Tags:

Hausa (African people)

History

ISLAM

Medicine

Medicine, Arab

Medicine, Arabic

Nigeria

Religion and Medicine

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

The author of this text argues that,
although the Islamic and the pre-Islamic Hausa medical systems have much
in common, their theoretical and conceptual frameworks are different.
They operate from different understandings of the causes of disease and
misfortune, and of the appropriate methods to be employed to restore
health or alleviate suffering. The book also discusses another
significant difference between the Islamic and non-Islamic Hausa medical
systems: the mode of preserving and communicating medical knowledge.
The early history of Islamic medicine is also described, and its
theories, concepts and historical developments are explored.

Islam and mental health: A few speculations.

Type

Journal Article

Author

Ahmed M. Abdel-Khalek

Abstract

The author reflects on the studies conducted by various researchers
on the relationship of Islam and mental health. It is being stressed by
the author that there is a positive relation between religiosity and
both mental and subjective well-being, and a negative association
between religiosity and psychopathology. It adds that the similarities
between monotheistic religions overshadow the differences regarding the
association between religiosity and mental health.

Publication

Mental Health, Religion & Culture

Volume

14

Issue

2

Pages

87-92

Date

February 2011

DOI

10.1080/13674676.2010.544867

ISSN

13674676

Short Title

Islam and mental health

Library Catalog

EBSCOhost

Date Added

Thursday, September 29, 2011 8:57:14 AM

Modified

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Tags:

ADJUSTMENT (Psychology)

ISLAM

mental health

RESEARCH -- Methodology

Religiously integrated psychotherapy with Muslim clients: From research to practice.

Type

Journal Article

Author

Hisham Abu Raiya

Author

Kenneth I. Pargament

Abstract

In this paper, we attempt to translate empirical findings from a
program of research that developed a Psychological Measure of Islamic
Religiousness (PMIR) into practical clinical applications. The findings
from this program of research are complemented and illuminated by
findings from other empirical research and clinical work with Muslims.
Our recommendations can be summarized as follows. First, clinicians
should inquire directly about the place of religion in the lives of
their Muslim clients. Second, mental health professionals should ask
about what Islam means to their clients and educate themselves about
basic Islamic beliefs and practices. Third, clinicians should help their
Muslim clients draw on Islamic positive religious coping methods to
deal with stressors. Fourth, we recommend that clinicians assess for
religious struggles, normalize them, help clients find satisfying
solutions to these struggles and, if appropriate, refer clients who
struggle to a Muslim pastoral counselor or religious leader. Finally, in
order to overcome stigma associated with mental health issues, mental
health professionals should educate the Islamic public about psychology,
psychopathology, and psychotherapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010
APA, all rights reserved). (from the journal abstract)

Publication

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

Volume

41

Issue

2

Pages

181-188

Date

April 2010

DOI

10.1037/a0017988

ISSN

0735-7028

Short Title

Religiously integrated psychotherapy with Muslim clients

Accessed

Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:05:26 AM

Library Catalog

EBSCOhost

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Coping Behavior

empirical research

mental health

MUSLIMS

positive religious coping

Psychological Assessment

psychological measures

Psychotherapy

religion

religious struggle

religiously integrated psychotherapy

stigma

Imagery in Healing: Shamanism and Modern Medicine

Type

Book

Author

Jeanne Achterberg

Edition

1st ed

Place

Boston

Publisher

New Science Library, Shambhala

Date

1985

ISBN

0877733074

Short Title

Imagery in Healing

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R726.5 .A24 1985

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Imagery (Psychology)

Medicine and psychology

Medicine, Psychosomatic

Mind and body

Notes:

This influential book shows how the
systematic use of mental imagery can have a positive influence on the
course of disease and can help patients to cope with pain. In Imagery in
Healing, Jeanne Achterberg brings together modern scientific research
and the practices of the earliest healers to support her claim that
imagery is the world’s oldest and most powerful healing resource. The
book has become a classic in the field of alternative medicine and
continues to be read by new generations of health care professionals and
lay people. In Imagery in Healing, Achterberg explores in detail the
role of the imagination in the healing process. She begins with an
exploration of the tradition of shamanism, “the medicine of the
imagination,” surveying this time-honored way of touching the nexus of
the mind, body, and soul. She then traces the history of the use of
imagery within Western medicine, including a look at contemporary
examples of how health care professionals have drawn on the power of the
imagination through such methods as hypnosis, biofeedback, and the
placebo effect. Ultimately, Achterberg looks to the science of
immunology to uncover the most effective ground for visualization, and
she presents data demonstrating how imagery can have a direct and
profound impact on the workings of the immune system. Drawing on art,
science, history, anthropology, and medicine, Imagery in Healing offers a
highly readable overview of the profound and complex relationship
between the imagination and the body.

The Sacred in the Scientific: Ambiguous Practices of Science in Tibetan Medicine

Health Care in Maya Guatemala: Confronting Medical Pluralism in a Developing Country

Type

Book

Author

Walter Randolph Adams

Author

John Palmer Hawkins

Place

Norman

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Date

2007

ISBN

9780806138596

Short Title

Health Care in Maya Guatemala

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

F1435.3.M4 A43 2007

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Guatemala

Mayas

Medical care

Medicine

Social conditions

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Health Care in Maya Guatemala examines
medical systems and institutions in three K’iche’ Maya communities to
reveal the conflicts between indigenous medical care and Guatemalan
biomedical system. The editors and contributors show how people in this
rapidly modernizing society think about traditional practices--and
reveal that health conditions in traditional communities deteriorate
over time as long-standing medical practices erode in the face of
Western encroachment. The contributors first consider cultural,
institutional, and behavioral aspects of health care in Guatemala. Then
they look closely at the nature and treatment of specific health issues,
such as dentistry and mental health--especially depression. Finally
they provide new insight on midwifery, nutrition, ethnomedicine, and
other topics.

Medicine between science and religion: explorations on Tibetan grounds

Type

Book

Editor

Vincanne Adams

Editor

Mona Schrempf

Editor

Sienna R. Craig

Series

Epistemologies of Healing

Place

New York

Publisher

Berghahn Books

Date

2010

ISBN

9781845457587

Date Added

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Modified

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Applying Qur’anic metaphors in counseling.

Type

Journal Article

Author

Shaima Ahammed

Abstract

In recent years there has been increased attention to the importance
of appropriate and relevant counseling interventions with culturally
and religiously diverse populations. In accordance with the fact that
Muslims rely on Qur’anic verses when answering the larger questions of
life, “metaphor therapy” comes across as a technique that counselors can
employ with Muslim clients. Although several authors have suggested the
use of therapeutic metaphors from various religious texts in a broad
manner, relatively little has been published on the application of
metaphors from the Qur’an in counseling. This article explains the value
of Qur’anic metaphors as therapeutic tools in counseling. (PsycINFO
Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract)

Many historians claim that the Western world pioneered in the
setting of ethical, legal and professional standards in the practice of
medicine. Informed medical consent is proposed by some as an American
invention. Others claim that patient rights and legal protection propose
have stated in the early decades of the 20th century. This review is an
attempt to uncover the facts regarding the way Arabs practiced medicine
during the golden era of Islam. Eight hundred to fifteen hundred AD
this includes the qualification of physicians according to a well
designed curricula covering the science and humanity of medicine. The
rules governing the quality control of health care delivery system and
to some degree the principles of informed medical consent and to a
lesser degree the principles of litigation are discussed. We hope that
this paper will be a call to all humanity loving persons to end
prejudices against other people and to stop stereotyping.

Tags:

Arab World

Ethics, Medical

Female

History, 20th Century

History, Ancient

History, Medieval

Humans

ISLAM

Liability, Legal

Male

Medicine, Arabic

Moral Obligations

Quality of Health Care

Social Values

Notes:

Many historians claim that the Western
world pioneered in the setting of ethical, legal and professional
standards in the practice of medicine. Informed medical consent is
proposed by some as an American invention. Others claim that patient
rights and legal protection propose have stated in the early decades of
the 20th century. This review is an attempt to uncover the facts
regarding the way Arabs practiced medicine during the golden era of
Islam. Eight hundred to fifteen hundred AD this includes the
qualification of physicians according to a well designed curricula
covering the science and humanity of medicine. The rules governing the
quality control of health care delivery system and to some degree the
principles of informed medical consent and to a lesser degree the
principles of litigation are discussed. We hope that this paper will be a
call to all humanity loving persons to end prejudices against other
people and to stop stereotyping.

The Subtle Energies of Spirit: Explorations in Metaphysical and New Age Spirituality

Nature religion in America : from the Algonkian Indians to the New Age

Type

Book

Author

Catherine Albanese

Place

Chicago

Publisher

University of Chicago Press

Date

1990

ISBN

9780226011455

Short Title

Nature religion in America

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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Notes:

This study reveals an unorganized and
previously unacknowledged religion at the heart of American culture.
Nature, Albanese argues, has provided a compelling religious center
throughout American history.

Reconsidering nature religion

Type

Book

Author

Catherine Albanese

Place

Harrisburg Pa.

Publisher

Trinity Press International

Date

2002

ISBN

9781563383762

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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Notes:

Nature religion is a much broader and more
pervasive part of our culture than we may know. In the late twentieth
century, for example, certain nature-based New Age perspectives and
practices emerged—developments whose seeds were planted in the nature
religion of nineteenth-century America. In Reconsidering Nature
Religion, Catherine Albanese looks at the place where nature and
religion come together, and explores how this operates in contemporary
life and thinking. Nature, she says, functions as an absolute that
grounds and orients life. Religion concerns the ways that people use
this absolute of nature to form a meaningful life. And religion itself
provides ways of interacting with nature. Nature religion is one
essential way that people relate to the ordinary and extra-ordinary
aspects of their worlds. It was so for people like the famous naturalist
John Muir, and remains so for us today. For all of us, nature works in a
religious way that informs and transforms life.

Islam and Muslims have been in the headlines recently for one reason
or another. But the practice of medicine in an Islamic conservative
country such as Saudi Arabia has not been adequately reported. Many
questions about cultural differences in the practice of medicine have
been directed at me by non-Muslim colleagues. Below, I have tried to
answer some of them after practising at a university hospital in Saudi
Arabia for the last 25 years.

Tags:

Faith Healing

Humans

Interviews as Topic

ISLAM

Mental Disorders

Religion and Psychology

South Africa

Notes:

The important role that religious beliefs
may have on perceptions of mental illness cannot be ignored. Many
religions including Islam advocate witchcraft and spirit possession--all
of which are thought to influence the behaviour of a person so as to
resemble that of a mentally ill individual. Thus this research explored
Muslim Faith Healers perceptions of mental and spiritual illness in
terms of their understanding of the distinctions between the two, the
aetiologies and the treatments thereof. Six Muslim Healers in the
Johannesburg community were interviewed and thematic content analysis
was used to analyse the data. From the results it is clear that the
faith healers were aware of the distinction between mental and spiritual
illnesses. It was also apparent that Islam has a clear taxonomy that
distinguishes illness and the causes thereof. Treatments are then
advised accordingly. Thus this paper argues that the predominant Western
view of the aetiology and understanding of mental illness needs to
acknowledge the various culturally inclined taxonomies of mental illness
so as to better understand and aid clients.

Yoga in modern India : the body between science and philosophy

Type

Book

Author

Joseph Alter

Place

Princeton N.J.

Publisher

Princeton University Press

Date

2004

ISBN

9780691118734

Short Title

Yoga in modern India

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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Gandhi's Body, Gandhi's Truth: Nonviolence and the Biomoral Imperative of Public Health

Notes:

Joseph S. Alter offers a novel reading of
Mahatma Gandhi’s writings on diet, sex, and hygiene. By arguing “that
nonviolence was, for him, as much an issue of public health as an issue
of politics, morality, and religion,” this reading challenges previous
studies that delink Gandhi’s preoccupation with issues of health from
his political ideas and agenda as well as works that treat those links
together but only in terms of psychological and sociopsychological
meta-interpretations. Alter also takes a different line on the Mahtama’s
conception of health by contextualizing it within the framework of what
he terms “late imperialism,” a framework which enables the author to
view his subject’s personal convictions “in the context of colonialism’s
impact on subject bodies.” In other words, Gandhi’s personal
“experiments with truth,” whether they centered on dietetics, celibacy,
hygiene, and nature cure, cannot be separated from his search for truth,
or from his belief in nonviolence, or his campaign for sociopolitical
reform.

Rethinking the history of medicine in Asia: Hakim Mohammed Said and the Society for the Promotion of Eastern Medicine

Tags:

China

Colonialism

Historiography

History of Medicine

History, 20th Century

History, Ancient

History, Medieval

Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Medicine, Unani

Pakistan

Notes:

In 1963 Hakim Mohammed Said took a
Pakistani delegation from the Society for the Promotion of Eastern
Medicine on a monthlong trip to China to meet with and learn from
practitioners of Traditional Chinese Medicine. This essay focuses on
Said’s interpretation of the history of medicine in Asia, which was
inspired by his trip and informed by a broad, global understanding of
how Unani medicine developed from the eighth century to the present.
Said’s advocacy of Eastern Medicine provides a way to think about the
history of medicine and medical revitalization that is not limited by
colonial, postcolonial, or nationalist assumptions and priorities.

Tags:

Eye Diseases

History, Medieval

Humans

ISLAM

Medicine

Middle East

Philosophy, Medical

Practice Management, Medical

Notes:

Medicine and disease in medieval Islam
have thus far been approached through theoretic medical treatises, on
the assumption that learned medical texts are a transparent account of
reality. A question yet to be sufficiently explored is the extent to
which the ideas and theoretical principles they contain were actually
carried out in practice. This paper deals with the description of
diseases occurring in a tenth-century Casebook (Kitab al-Tajarib) by Abu
Bakr Muhammad ibn Zakariya’ al-Razi (known to Europeans as Rhazes)-the
largest and oldest collection of case histories, so far as is known, in
medieval Islamic medical literature. Since the author was a prolific
medical writer, this study also includes a review of his medical and
therapeutic principles dealing with eye diseases, as described in his
learned treatises, and a comparison with those therapies actually
employed in his everyday practice, as exemplified by the Casebook. The
comparative analysis shows that the medical knowledge and the
therapeutic advice so meticulously described in theoretical works were
not paralleled in the physician’s medical performance. On the contrary,
it appears that learned treatises served other purposes than determining
medical practice.

The faunal drugstore: Animal-based remedies used in traditional medicines in Latin America

Type

Journal Article

Author

Rômulo Alves

Author

Humberto N. Alves

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Zootherapy is the treatment of human ailments with
remedies made from animals and their products. Despite its prevalence in
traditional medical practices worldwide, research on this phenomenon
has often been neglected in comparison to medicinal plant research. This
review discusses some related aspects of the use of animal-based
remedies in Latin America, identifies those species used as folk
remedies, and discusses the implications of zootherapy for public health
and biological conservation. The review of literature revealed that at
least 584 animal species, distributed in 13 taxonomic categories, have
been used in traditional medicine in region. The number of medicinal
species catalogued was quite expansive and demonstrates the importance
of zootherapy as an alternative mode of therapy in Latin America.
Nevertheless, this number is certainly underestimated since the number
of studies on the theme are very limited. Animals provide the raw
materials for remedies prescribed clinically and are also used in the
form of amulets and charms in magic-religious rituals and ceremonies.
Zootherapeutic resources were used to treat different diseases. The
medicinal fauna is largely based on wild animals, including some
endangered species. Besides being influenced by cultural aspects, the
relations between humans and biodiversity in the form of zootherapeutic
practices are conditioned by the social and economic relations between
humans themselves. Further ethnopharmacological studies are necessary to
increase our understanding of the links between traditional uses of
faunistic resources and conservation biology, public health policies,
sustainable management of natural resources and bio-prospecting.

Psychological healing and faith in the doctrine of Karma.

Type

Journal Article

Author

Jyoti Anand

Abstract

The doctrine of Karma enjoys wide acceptance by all cross-sections
of the Hindu population. The doctrine is frequently invoked while
seeking explanations for various life crises. This study is an effort to
delineate its role in the healing process. A narrative study was
conducted on middle-to-late age women who had undergone major life
crises. Their narratives threw light on how these women used this
doctrine to make sense of their suffering and readapt to the changed
reality. The belief in the doctrine facilitated acceptance of and
emergence from their tragic life events. It was concluded that more
systematic work is required to understand the mental representation of
the doctrine and its various tenets, which affect the healing process.
[ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tags:

Alcoholism

Attitude to Health

Cultural Characteristics

Health Behavior

Health promotion

Humans

ISLAM

Mental Disorders

mental health

Religion and Medicine

Religion and Psychology

Notes:

This paper discusses the importance of a
spiritual element in health with particular reference to mental health
and Islam. The Islamic spiritual quest is outlined and some directives
described. Specific examples are given of their application to health.

Tags:

Alternative medicine

Anthropology

Complementary Therapies

Cross-Cultural Comparison

Delivery of Health Care

Medical anthropology

Medicine, Traditional

Social medicine

United States

Notes:

Examining medical pluralism in the United
States from the Revolutionary War period through the end of the
twentieth century, Hans Baer brings together in one convenient reference
a vast array of information on healing systems as diverse as Christian
Science, osteopathy, acupuncture, Santeria, southern Appalachian
herbalism, evangelical faith healing, and Navajo healing. In a country
where the dominant paradigm of biomedicine (medical schools, research
hospitals, clinics staffed by M.D.s and R.N.s,) has been long
established and supported by laws and regulations, the continuing appeal
of other medical systems and subsystems bears careful consideration.
Distinctions of class, Baer emphasizes, as well as differences in race,
ethnicity, and gender, are fundamental to the diversity of beliefs,
techniques, and social organizations represented in the phenomenon of
medical pluralism. Baer traces the simultaneous emergence in the
nineteenth century of formalized biomedicine and of homeopathy, botanic
medicine, hydropathy, Christian Science, osteopathy, and chiropractic.
He examines present-day osteopathic medicine as a system parallel to
biomedicine with an emphasis on primary care; chiropractic, naturopathy,
and acupuncture as professionalized heterodox medical systems;
homeopathy, herbalism, bodywork, and lay midwifery in the context of the
holistic health movement; Anglo-American religious healing; and folk
medical systems, particularly among racial and ethnic minorities. In
closing, he focuses on the persistence of folk medical systems among
working-class Americans and considers the growing interest of biomedical
physicians, pharmaceutical and health care corporations, and government
in the holistic health movement.

The Sociopolitical Status of U. S. Naturopathy at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Type

Journal Article

Author

Hans A. Baer

Abstract

Naturopathic medicine in the United States had its inception around
the turn of the 20th century. Subsequently, it underwent a process of
relatively rapid growth until around the 1930s, followed by a period of
gradual decline almost to the point of extinction due to biomedical
opposition and the advent of "miracle drugs." Because its therapeutic
eclecticism had preadapted it to fit into the holistic health movement
that emerged in the 1970s, it was able to undergo a process of
organizational rejuvenation during the last two decades of the century.
Nevertheless, U.S. naturopathy as a professionalized heterodox medical
system faces several dilemmas as it enters the new millennium. These
include (1) the fact that it has succeeded in obtaining licensure in
only two sections of the country, namely, the Far West and New England;
(2) increasing competition from partially professionalized and lay
naturopaths, many of whom are graduates of correspondence schools; and
(3) the danger of cooptation as many biomedical practitioners adopt
natural therapies.

Notes:

Naturopathic medicine in the United States
had its inception around the turn of the 20th century. Subsequently, it
underwent a process of relatively rapid growth until around the 1930s,
followed by a period of gradual decline almost to the point of
extinction due to biomedical opposition and the advent of “miracle
drugs.” Because its therapeutic eclecticism had preadapted it to fit
into the holistic health movement that emerged in the 1970s, it was able
to undergo a process of organizational rejuvenation during the last two
decades of the century. Nevertheless, U.S. naturopathy as a
professionalized heterodox medical system faces several dilemmas as it
enters the new millennium. These include (1) the fact that it has
succeeded in obtaining licensure in only two sections of the country,
namely, the Far West and New England; (2) increasing competition from
partially professionalized and lay naturopaths, many of whom are
graduates of correspondence schools; and (3) the danger of cooptation as
many biomedical practitioners adopt natural therapies.

Divergence and Convergence in Two Systems of Manual Medicine: Osteopathy and Chiropractic in the United States

Type

Journal Article

Author

Hans A. Baer

Abstract

Although osteopathy and chiropractic emerged as medical
revitalization movements with a similar disease theory during the late
19th century, osteopathy has evolved into osteopathic medicine and
surgery, and chiropractic has evolved into a musculoskeletal speciality.
In this article I attempt to explain the divergent evolution of these
two schools of manual medicine in the United States by considering their
respective roles in addressing various structural problems in American
health care, their contrasting relationships with biomedicine, organized
biomedicine's stance toward the two alternative medical systems, and
internal organizational conflicts within osteopathy and chiropractic. It
will also show that both osteopathy and chiropractic were forced to
some degree to converge with biomedicine both conceptually and
therapeutically.

Notes:

Although osteopathy and chiropractic
emerged as medical revitalization movements with a similar disease
theory during the late 19th century, osteopathy has evolved into
osteopathic medicine and surgery, and chiropractic has evolved into a
musculoskeletal speciality. In this article I attempt to explain the
divergent evolution of these two schools of manual medicine in the
United States by considering their respective roles in addressing
various structural problems in American health care, their contrasting
relationships with biomedicine, organized biomedicine’s stance toward
the two alternative medical systems, and internal organizational
conflicts within osteopathy and chiropractic. It will also show that
both osteopathy and chiropractic were forced to some degree to converge
with biomedicine both conceptually and therapeutically.

The effects of Islam and traditional practices on women's health and reproduction

Type

Journal Article

Author

Zuhal Bahar

Author

Hale Okçay

Author

S Ozbiçakçi

Author

Ayse Beşer

Author

Besti Ustün

Author

Meryem Oztürk

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of Islam as a
religion and culture on Turkish women's health. The study included 138
household members residing in the territory of three primary health care
centers in Turkey: Güzelbahçe, Fahrettin Altay and Esentepe. Data were
collected by means of a questionnaire prepared by a multidisciplinary
team that included specialists from the departments of public health,
psychiatric nursing and sociology. We found that the women's health
behavior changed from traditional to rational as education levels
increased, and that religious and traditional attitudes and behaviors
were predominant in the countryside, especially practices related to
pregnancy, delivery, the postpartum period, induced abortion and family
planning. One of the most important prerequisites for the improvement of
women's health is that nurses should know the religious practices and
culture of the society for which they provide care, so that their
efforts to protect and improve women's health will be effective.

Tags:

Abortion, Induced

Adult

Attitude to Health

Culture

Educational Status

Family Planning Services

Female

Humans

ISLAM

Maternal Health Services

Questionnaires

Religion and Medicine

Turkey

Women's Health

Notes:

The aim of this study was to investigate
the effects of Islam as a religion and culture on Turkish women’s
health. The study included 138 household members residing in the
territory of three primary health care centers in Turkey: Güzelbahçe,
Fahrettin Altay and Esentepe. Data were collected by means of a
questionnaire prepared by a multidisciplinary team that included
specialists from the departments of public health, psychiatric nursing
and sociology. We found that the women’s health behavior changed from
traditional to rational as education levels increased, and that
religious and traditional attitudes and behaviors were predominant in
the countryside, especially practices related to pregnancy, delivery,
the postpartum period, induced abortion and family planning. One of the
most important prerequisites for the improvement of women’s health is
that nurses should know the religious practices and culture of the
society for which they provide care, so that their efforts to protect
and improve women’s health will be effective.

The Journey Toward Wholeness: A Christ-Centered Approach to Health and Healing

Needles, herbs, gods, and ghosts : China, healing, and the West to 1848

Type

Book

Author

Linda Barnes

Place

Cambridge Mass.

Publisher

Harvard University Press

Date

2005

ISBN

9780674018723

Short Title

Needles, herbs, gods, and ghosts

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Teaching Religion and Healing

Type

Book

Author

Linda L Barnes

Author

Inés Talamantez

Contributor

American Academy of Religion

Place

Oxford

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

2006

ISBN

019517643X

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BL41 .T43 2006

Date Added

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Tags:

Medicine

religion

Religious aspects

Spiritual healing

Study and teaching

Notes:

This volume is designed to help
instructors incorporate discussion of healing into their courses and to
encourage the development of courses focused on religion and healing. It
brings together essays by leading experts in a range of disciplines and
addresses the role of healing in many different religious traditions.
The primary target audience comprises faculty in religious studies,
divinity schools, anthropology, sociology, and ethnic studies. However,
the volume also addresses the needs of educators training pre-med
students and will be an invaluable resource for those involved in
educating physicians, health care professionals, and chaplains,
particularly in relation to what is referred to as “cultural competence”
- the ability to work with multicultural and religiously diverse
patient populations.

The African Transformation of Western Medicine and the Dynamics of Global Cultural Exchange

Type

Book

Author

David Baronov

Place

Philadelphia

Publisher

Temple University Press

Date

2008

ISBN

1592139159

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GN645 .B37 2008

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

19th century

20th century

Africa

Anthropology, Cultural

Ethnology

History

History of Medicine

History, 19th Century

History, 20th Century

Medicine

Medicine, African Traditional

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Beginning with the colonial era, Western
biomedicine has radically transformed African medical beliefs and
practices. Conversely, in using Western biomedicine, Africans have also
transformed it. The African Transformation of Western Medicine and the
Dynamics of Global Cultural Exchange contends that contemporary African
medical systems—no less “biomedical” than Western medicine—in fact
greatly enrich and expand the notion of biomedicine, reframing it as a
global cultural form deployed across global networks of cultural
exchange. The book analyzes biomedicine as a complex and dynamic
sociocultural form, the conceptual premises of which make it necessarily
subject to ongoing change and development as it travels the globe.
David Baronov captures the complexities of this cultural exchange by
using world-systems analysis in a way that places global cultural
processes on equal footing with political and economic processes. In
doing so, he both allows the story of Africa’s transformation of
“Western” biomedicine to be told and offers new insights into the
capitalist world system.

Cognitive Process: A Buddhist explanation of information process and its congruent reactions

Type

Journal Article

Author

Ven. Sreemat Swapan Kumar Barua

Abstract

The author presents a Buddhist understanding of the cognitive
process of incoming information, its circulation and its congruent
reactions based on the Buddhist spiritual meditative tradition of South
and Southeast Asia. He asserts that Buddha can be credited as the first
cognitive psychologist who propounded one of the most comprehensive
analytic systems of cognitive process with an ultimate aim of achieving
an altered psychological state of positive change and equilibrium
reaction. Abstract from a paper given at the Epilepsy, Brain and Mind
conference in March 2010, in Prague, Czech Republic.

Publication

Epilepsy & Behavior

Volume

17

Issue

4

Pages

598

Date

April 2010

DOI

10.1016/j.yebeh.2010.01.090

ISSN

1525-5050

Short Title

65. Cognitive process

Accessed

Friday, May 07, 2010 2:59:14 PM

Library Catalog

ScienceDirect

Date Added

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Modified

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Notes:

Applies Buddhist philosophy to cognitive processes; positions BUddha
as a cognitive psychologist meditation The author presents a Buddhist
understanding of the cognitive process of incoming information, its
circulation and its congruent reactions based on the Buddhist spiritual
meditative tradition of South and Southeast Asia. He asserts that Buddha
can be credited as the first cognitive psychologist who propounded one
of the most comprehensive analytic systems of cognitive process with an
ultimate aim of achieving an altered psychological state of positive
change and equilibrium reaction. Abstract from a paper given at the
Epilepsy, Brain and Mind conference in March 2010, in Prague, Czech
Republic.

The Buddha as a fully functioning person: toward a person-centered perspective on mindfulness

Type

Journal Article

Author

Manu Bazzano

Abstract

The paper explores links between the person-centered approach (PCA)
and meditation. It is divided into two parts. The first part begins with
a description of the author's own experience of meditation. It is
followed by a brief discussion of other approaches which similarly
attempt the integration of meditation and psychotherapy:
mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, transpersonal and psychodynamic
models, and by what might constitute an alternative paradigm, one based
on phenomenological principles which are central to the PCA. The second
part outlines interviews and findings of a small-scale heuristic and
phenomenological research (originally part of a dissertation) conducted
among person-centered therapists who regularly practice meditation.
Meditation is tentatively realized as a way of increasing organismic and
phenomenological awareness, of cultivating and refining a way of being,
of fostering a re-sacralization of the everyday and a greater
appreciation of the existential dilemma of being human.

Spirits Captured in Stone: Shamanism and Traditional Medicine Among the Taman of Borneo

Type

Book

Author

Jay H Bernstein

Place

Boulder, Colo

Publisher

Lynne Rienner Publishers

Date

1997

ISBN

1555876927

Short Title

Spirits Captured in Stone

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

DS646.32.T35 B47 1997

Date Added

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Tags:

Borneo

Medicine

Medicine, Traditional

religion

Rites and ceremonies

Shamanism

Social life and customs

Taman (Bornean people)

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

This work examines Shamanism and healing
practices among the Taman of Borneo. It contributes to contemporary
debates in cultural and medical anthropology, the anthropology of
religion and magic, ritual, folklore, and Southeast Asian ethnography.

Clinical research on ayurvedic therapeutics: myths, realities and challenges

Tags:

Dose-Response Relationship, Drug

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Phytotherapy

Plants, Medicinal

Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic

Research

Treatment Outcome

Notes:

Globally there is an increasing interest
in alternative routes to health such as ayurveda. There is a need to
conduct globally acceptable clinical research in ayurvedic therapeutics
(AT). Some of the issues in investigating AT in randomised clinical
trials (CT) are: selection of appropriate AT, non-drug and/or drug AT,
identification of objective outcomes, devising adequate placebo/positive
controls, difficulties of blinding, guarding against bias, duration of
trials, number of patients, dose optimisation, etc. There is also a need
to establish reasonable safety of this therapy in CT. If AT has to
complete with new chemical entities and biotechnology products, clinical
research and development of AT should be focussed on unmet medical
needs utilising principles and practices of modern CT approaches.

Tags:

Holistic Health

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

spirituality

yoga

Notes:

Yoga is a science of Holistic living and not merely a set of Asanas
and Pranayama. It is a psycho physical and spiritual science, which aims
at the harmonious development of the human body, mind and soul. Yoga is
the conscious art of self-discovery. It is a process by which animal
man ascends through the stages from normal man to super man and then the
divine man. It is an expansion of the narrow constricted egoistic
personality to an all-pervasive eternal and blissful state of reality.
Yoga is an all round development of personality at physical, mental
intellectual, emotional and spiritual level.

Religion and Medicine in the Middle Ages

Type

Book

Editor

Peter Biller

Editor

Joseph Ziegler

Series

York studies in medieval theology

Series Number

3

Place

Woodbridge, Suffolk

Publisher

York Medieval Press

Date

2001

ISBN

1903153077

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX1795.H4 R45 2001

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Tags:

Catholicism

Health

History, Medieval

Medicine

Medicine, Medieval

Religion and Medicine

Religious aspects

Notes:

The sheer extent of crossover - medics as
religious men, religious men as medics, medical language at the service
of preaching and moral-theological language deployed in medical writings
- is the driving force behind these studies. The book reflects the
extraordinary advances which ‘pure’ history of medicine has made in the
last twenty years: there is medicine at the levels of midwife and
village practitioner, the sweep of the learned Greek and Latin tradition
of over a millennium; there is control of midwifery by the priest,
therapy through liturgy, medicine as an expression of religious life for
heretics, medicine invading theologians’ discussion of earthly
paradise; and so on.

Wu and Shaman

Type

Journal Article

Author

Gilles Boileau

Abstract

Since Shangdai de shenhua yu wushu, Chen Mengjia's article on Shang
mythology, some sinological works have proposed that the Chinese wu was
an equivalent of the Siberian shaman. I examine first the issues in
anthropological comparatism involved in this problem and provide
up-to-date information on Siberian shamanism. It must be noted that the
Chinese texts are by no means equivalent to modern anthropological data
and that these texts did not originate directly from the wu themselves;
they are rather a collection of opinions or stories on the wu. Detailed
study of the nature and social status of the Chinese wu, either in
oracular inscriptions or late Zhou received texts, shows a systematic
association of the wu with non-auspicious or negative events, like
funerals, death or natural catastrophes. A further analysis of the data
reveals that the wu's activities in relation to natural phenomena were
frequently presented in terms related to sexuality. This last point
permits a comparison with Siberian shamans, whose activities are also
linked to fecundity and sexuality, although the Chinese texts often
associate the wu with sexual misbehaviour and blame them on moral
grounds. They go as far as to treat them as dangerous sorcerers who must
be weeded out. According to these data, the wu's social function is
linked to the handling of misfortune, either directly or by being
associated with ritually unacceptable behaviours. On the whole, my
conclusion is that even the common point between wu and Siberian shaman
(the link with sexuality) is not sufficient to allow for a translation
of 'wu' by 'shaman', especially in view of the differences of social and
historical context.

Publication

Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London

Notes:

Since Shangdai de shenhua yu wushu, Chen
Mengjia’s article on Shang mythology, some sinological works have
proposed that the Chinese wu was an equivalent of the Siberian shaman. I
examine first the issues in anthropological comparatism involved in
this problem and provide up-to-date information on Siberian shamanism.
It must be noted that the Chinese texts are by no means equivalent to
modern anthropological data and that these texts did not originate
directly from the wu themselves; they are rather a collection of
opinions or stories on the wu. Detailed study of the nature and social
status of the Chinese wu, either in oracular inscriptions or late Zhou
received texts, shows a systematic association of the wu with
non-auspicious or negative events, like funerals, death or natural
catastrophes. A further analysis of the data reveals that the wu’s
activities in relation to natural phenomena were frequently presented in
terms related to sexuality. This last point permits a comparison with
Siberian shamans, whose activities are also linked to fecundity and
sexuality, although the Chinese texts often associate the wu with sexual
misbehaviour and blame them on moral grounds. They go as far as to
treat them as dangerous sorcerers who must be weeded out. According to
these data, the wu’s social function is linked to the handling of
misfortune, either directly or by being associated with ritually
unacceptable behaviours. On the whole, my conclusion is that even the
common point between wu and Siberian shaman (the link with sexuality) is
not sufficient to allow for a translation of ‘wu’ by ‘shaman’,
especially in view of the differences of social and historical context.

Problems of suffering in religions of the world.

Type

Book

Author

John Bowker

Place

Cambridge

Publisher

Cambridge University Press

Date

1970

ISBN

9780521074124

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Notes:

A comparative general study of the
problems of suffering as treated by Judaism, Christianity, Islam,
Marxism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Healing logics : culture and medicine in modern health belief systems

Type

Book

Author

Erika Brady

Place

Logan Utah

Publisher

Utah State University Press

Date

2001

ISBN

9780874214116

Short Title

Healing logics

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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Notes:

Healing Logics provides an extensive,
multicultural look at folk and alternative beliefs and practices
concerning health and medicine and examines the interplay between formal
and folk health care. It contains the following original contributions
by leading scholars in the fields of medical anthropology and folk
medicine.

Tags:

Arab World

History of Nursing

History, Ancient

Hospitals

Humans

Medicine, Arabic

Medicine, Traditional

Notes:

The Arabian conquests during and after the
7th century led to a spread of Islam as well as the consequential
influence of theology on health through the teachings of the Qur’an
(Koran). Although traditional medicine was widely accepted and used, the
character of early aggrandisement of Arabic medicine involved a
facility for adapting and absorbing Graeco-Roman knowledge. The
translation schools and libraries, famous in both the East and West,
preserved and expanded the knowledge acquired. European academic
learning owed much to the Arabs. Information came through Spain to
Italy, France and, later on, England. The founding of hospitals, whilst
not an Arab initiative, received a fillip from the religious
prescriptions for care of the sick. The Military Orders developed
specialist institutions for the sick, probably as a result of what they
saw during their sojourn in the Middle East. The legacy of Arabic
medical care is still with us today and deserves understanding and
greater appreciation.

Despair, Sickness or Sin?: Hopelessness and Healing in the Christian Life

Type

Book

Author

Mary Louise Bringle

Place

Nashville

Publisher

Abingdon Press

Date

1990

ISBN

0687104939

Short Title

Despair, Sickness or Sin?

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BT774.5 .B75 1990

Date Added

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Tags:

Despair

Health

hope

Laziness

Religious aspects

Sin

Yoga and Sexual Functioning: A Review

Type

Journal Article

Author

Lori A. Brotto

Author

Lisa Mehak

Author

Cassandra Kit

Abstract

Yoga is an ancient practice with Eastern roots that involves both
physical postures (asanas) and breathing techniques (pranayamas). There
is also a cognitive component focusing on meditation and concentration,
which aids in achieving the goal of union between the self and the
spiritual. Although numerous empirical studies have found a beneficial
effect of yoga on different aspects of physical and psychological
functioning, claims of yoga's beneficial effects on sexuality derive
from a rich but nonempirical literature. The goal of this article is to
review the philosophy and forms of yoga, to review the nonempirical and
(limited) empirical literatures linking yoga with enhanced sexuality,
and to propose some future research avenues focusinging on yoga as a
treatment for sexual complaints.

Tags:

'All is done by Allah'. Understandings of Down syndrome and prenatal testing in Pakistan

Type

Journal Article

Author

Louise D. Bryant

Author

Shenaz Ahmed

Author

Mushtaq Ahmed

Author

Hussain Jafri

Author

Yasmin Raashid

Abstract

Understanding the psychosocial impact of a congenital condition such
as Down syndrome on affected individuals and their family requires an
understanding of the cultural context in which they are situated. This
study carried out in 2008 used Q-Methodology to characterize
understandings of Down syndrome (DS) in Pakistan in a sample of health
professionals, researchers and parents of children with the condition.
Fifty statements originally developed for a UK study and translated into
Urdu were Q-sorted by 60 participants. The use of factor analytic
techniques identified three independent accounts and qualitative data
collected during the Q-sorting exercise supported their interpretation.
In two accounts, the 'will of God' was central to an understanding of
the existence of people with DS although perceptions about the value and
quality of life of the affected individual differed significantly
between these accounts as did views about the impact on the family. The
third account privileged a more 'scientific worldview' of DS as a
genetic abnormality but also a belief that society can further
contribute to disabling those affected. Attitudes towards prenatal
testing and termination of pregnancy demonstrated that a belief in the
will of Allah was not necessarily associated with a rejection of these
technologies. Accounts reflect the religious, cultural and economic
context of Pakistan and issues associated with raising a child with a
learning disability in that country.

Health and Medicine Among the Latter-Day Saints: Science,sense, and Scripture

Type

Book

Author

Lester E Bush

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1993

ISBN

0824512197

Short Title

Health and Medicine Among the Latter-Day Saints

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX8643.H8 B87 1993

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Tags:

Christianity

Health

Hygiene, Mormon

Medicine

Membership

Mental Healing

Mormon Church

Religion and Medicine

Religious aspects

Spiritual healing

History of Medicine: A Very Short Introduction

Type

Book

Author

W. F Bynum

Place

Oxford

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

2008

ISBN

9780199215430

Short Title

History of Medicine

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R131 .B974 2008

Date Added

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Tags:

History

Medicine

Notes:

Against the backdrop of unprecedented
concern for the future of health care, this Very Short Introduction
surveys the history of medicine from classical times, through the
scholastic medieval tradition and the Enlightenment to the present day.
Taking a thematic rather than strictly chronological approach, W.F.
Bynum, explores the key turning points in the history of Western
medicine-such as the first surgical procedures, the advent of hospitals,
the introduction of anesthesia, X-Rays, vaccinations, and many other
innovations, as well as the rise of experimental medicine. The book also
explores Western medicine’s encounters with Chinese and Indian
medicine, as well as nontraditional treatments such as homeopathy,
chiropractic, and other alternative medicines. Covering a vast amount of
information, this Very Short Introduction sheds new light on medicine’s
past, while at the same time engaging with contemporary issues,
discoveries, and controversies, such as the spiraling costs of health
care, lack of health insurance for millions, breakthrough treatments,
and much more.

'Wellbeing': a collateral casualty of modernity?

Type

Journal Article

Author

Sandra Carlisle

Author

Gregor Henderson

Author

Phil W Hanlon

Abstract

In the now vast empirical and theoretical literature on wellbeing
knowledge of the subject is provided mainly by psychology and economics,
where understanding of the concept are framed in very different ways.
We briefly rehearse these, before turning to some important critical
points which can be made about this burgeoning research industry,
including the tight connections between the meanings of the concept with
the moral value systems of particular 'modern' societies. We then argue
that both the 'science' of wellbeing and its critique are, despite
their diversity, re-connected by and subsumed within the emerging
environmental critique of modern consumer society. This places concerns
for individual and social wellbeing within the broader context of global
human problems and planetary wellbeing. A growing number of thinkers
now suggest that Western society and culture are dominated by
materialistic and individualistic values, made manifest at the political
and social levels through the unending pursuit of economic growth, and
at the individual level by the seemingly endless quest for consumer
goods, regardless of global implications such as broader environmental
harms. The escalating growth of such values is associated with a growing
sense of individual alienation, social fragmentation and civic
disengagement and with the decline of more spiritual, moral and ethical
aspects of life. Taken together, these multiple discourses suggest that
wellbeing can be understood as a collateral casualty of the economic,
social and cultural changes associated with late modernity. However,
increasing concerns for the environment have the potential to counter
some of these trends, and in so doing could also contribute to our
wellbeing as individuals and as social beings in a finite world.

Tags:

India

Notes:

Religion, spirituality, health and
medicine have common roots in the conceptual framework of relationship
amongst human beings, nature and God. Of late, there has been a surge in
interest in understanding the interplay of religion, spirituality,
health and medicine, both in popular and scientific literature. A number
of published empirical studies suggest that religious involvement is
associated with better outcomes in physical and mental health. Despite
some methodological limitations, these studies do point towards a
positive association between religious involvement and better health.
When faced with disease, disability and death, many patients would like
physicians to address their emotional and spiritual needs, as well. The
renewed interest in the interaction of religion and spirituality with
health and medicine has significant implications in the Indian context.
Although religion is translated as dharma in major Indian languages,
dharma and religion are etymologically different and dharma is closer to
spirituality than religion as an organized institution. Religion and
spirituality play important roles in the lives of millions of Indians
and therefore, Indian physicians need to respectfully acknowledge
religious issues and address the spiritual needs of their patients.
Incorporating religion and spirituality into health and medicine may
also go a long way in making the practice of medicine more holistic,
ethical and compassionate. It may also offer new opportunities to learn
more about Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine and have
more enriched understanding and collaborative interaction between
different systems of medicine. Indian physicians may also find religion
and spirituality significant and fulfilling in their own lives.

Tags:

Ethics, Professional

History, Medieval

ISLAM

Pharmacy

Notes:

Most work on Islamic medical ethics has
been in relation to the physician, yet physicians are only one category
of many health-related professionals. In view of its role as mediator
between the layman and medication, pharmacy is of perhaps equal
importance. In medieval Islam, there seems to have been a clear
differentiation between the physician and the pharmacist. However, most
of our sources reflect the physician’s point of view. A text which
uniquely reflects that of the pharmacist is the thirteenth-century
Minhaj al-dukkan by al-Kuhin al-’Attar of Cairo. A comparison between
the ethical contents of this book, and of similar works aimed at
physicians, can indicate what the differences and similarities were
between the “good physician” and the “good pharmacist.” Interestingly,
the language used to define the “go od” professional is religiously
neutral--there is nothing to evince a particular identity, beyond a
general monotheism, on the part of the writers.

Sickness or Sin: Spiritual Discernment and Differential Diagnosis

Type

Book

Author

John T Chirban

Place

Brookline, MA

Publisher

Holy Cross Orthodox Press

Date

2001

ISBN

1885652496

Short Title

Sickness or Sin

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX323 .S53 2001

Date Added

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Tags:

Discernment of spirits

DISEASES

Health

Medicine

Psychology and religion

Religious aspects

Sin

Notes:

This book makes a tremendously important
contribution to the dialogue between Christian faith and the healing
professions. Noting that “knowing what to do and how and when to do it
characterizes the essence of spiritual discernment and differential
diagnosis,” John Chirban has focused this collection of articles around
the critical issue of understanding in the therapeutic encounter.
Drawing on the richness of the Orthodox Christian tradition,
contributors identify rich resources to aid this process of therapeutic
discernment. The result is a book that should be recognized for its
value not only to Orthodox Christians but to all Christians with
interest in under-standing the nature of personal formation, deformation
and transformation.

Tags:

Arthritis

Disease

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Obesity

Plant Preparations

Notes:

In the prebiblical Ayurvedic origins, every creation inclusive of a
human being is a model of the universe. In this model, the basic matter
and the dynamic forces (Dosha) of the nature determine health and
disease, and the medicinal value of any substance (plant and mineral).
The Ayurvedic practices (chiefly that of diet, life style, and the
Panchkarama) aim to maintain the Dosha equilibrium. Despite a holistic
approach aimed to cure disease, therapy is customized to the
individual's constitution (Prakruti). Numerous Ayurvedic medicines
(plant derived in particular) have been tested for their biological
(especially immunomodulation) and clinical potential using modern
ethnovalidation, and thereby setting an interface with modern medicine.
To understand Ayurvedic medicine, it would be necessary to first
understand the origin, basic concept and principles of Ayurveda.

Claiming the Public Soul: Representations of Qur'anic Healing and Psychiatry in the Egyptian Print Media

Type

Journal Article

Author

Elizabeth M Coker

Abstract

Egyptian society is engaged in a culture-wide debate over
definitions of abnormality, local constructions of which are rooted in
ideas about the body and the soul in relation to society as a whole.
This is reflected in the continuing recourse to religious healers or
texts, as well as in heated debates over the moral, social, religious
and legal status of religious healers, in particular the relatively
recent and more orthodox "Qur'anic healers." The present study used a
primarily qualitative analysis of Egyptian newspaper articles to explore
media portrayals of this debate with a focus on how these contradictory
cultural themes are situated and contested. The results show that
psychiatric hegemony is reflected in media language that gives primacy
to certain discourses over others, but that religious healing and
religion in general exert an equal, if not more powerful influence on
the form of these media portrayals. Different strategies used to
negotiate the tensions between Qur'anic healing and psychiatry by those
on both sides of the argument come across in the ways these arguments
are portrayed in the media.

Tags:

Adult

Female

Health Behavior

Holistic Health

Humans

Life Style

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Middle Aged

Perception

Quality of Life

social support

Notes:

Ayurveda, the traditional medical system
of India, is understudied in western contexts. Using data gathered from
an Ayurvedic treatment program, this study examined the role of
psychosocial factors in the process of behavior change and the
salutogenic process. This observational study examined associations with
participation in the 5-day Ayurvedic cleansing retreat program,
Panchakarma. Quality of life, psychosocial, and behavior change
measurements were measured longitudinally on 20 female participants.
Measurements were taken before the start of the program, immediately
after the program, and 3 months postprogram. The program did not
significantly improve quality of life. Significant improvements were
found in self-efficacy towards using Ayurveda to improve health and
reported positive health behaviors. In addition, perceived social
support and depression showed significant improvements 3 months
postprogram after the subjects had returned to their home context. As a
program of behavior change, our preliminary results suggest that the
complex intervention Panchakarma may be effective in assisting one’s
expected and reported adherence to new and healthier behavior patterns.

Cherokee Medicine Man: The Life and Work of a Modern-Day Healer

Type

Book

Author

Robert J Conley

Place

Norman [Okla.]

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Date

2005

ISBN

0806136650

Short Title

Cherokee Medicine Man

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

E99.C5 L54 2005

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Tags:

Cherokee Indians

Little Bear, John

religion

Rites and ceremonies

SHAMANS

Notes:

Robert J. Conley did not set out to
chronicle the life of Cherokee medicine man John Little Bear. Instead,
the medicine man came to him. Little Bear asked Conley to write down his
story, to reveal to the world “what Indian medicine is really about.”
For Little Bear, as for the Cherokee ancestors who brought their
traditions over the Trail of Tears to Indian Territory, the medicine is
about helping people. Visitors from neighboring states and Mexico come
to him, each one seeking help for a different kind of problem. Each
seeker’s story is presented here exactly as it was told to Conley

Tags:

ASIA

healing

Shamanism

Social medicine

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Connor and Samuel explore the present
state of a range of healing traditions in their Asian locales. The
peoples examined include relatively remote populations such as the Iban
of Sarawak, the Temiar of Malaysia, and the Sasak of Lomboko, as well as
rural South Indians and Malays, the people of South Korea’s modern
industrial cities, and Tibetans both in Chinese-controlled Tibet and in
the refugee settlements of North India.

Chiropractic in the United States: Trends and Issues

Type

Journal Article

Author

Richard A. Cooper

Author

Heather J. McKee

Abstract

Chiropractic is the best established of the alternative health care
professions. Although marginalized for much of the 20th century, it has
entered the mainstream of health care, gaining both legitimacy and
access to third-party payers. However, the profession's efforts to
validate the effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy, its principal
modality, have yielded only modest and often contrary results. At the
same time, reimbursement is shrinking, the number of practitioners is
growing, and competition from other healing professions is increasing.
The profession's efforts to establish a role in primary care are meeting
resistance, and its attempts to broaden its activities in alternative
medicine have inherent limitations. Although patients express a high
level of satisfaction with chiropractic treatment and politicians are
sympathetic to it, this may not be enough as our nation grapples to
define the health care system that it can afford.

Notes:

Chiropractic is the best established of
the alternative health care professions. Although marginalized for much
of the 20th century, it has entered the mainstream of health care,
gaining both legitimacy and access to third-party payers. However, the
profession’s efforts to validate the effectiveness of spinal
manipulative therapy, its principal modality, have yielded only modest
and often contrary results. At the same time, reimbursement is
shrinking, the number of practitioners is growing, and competition from
other healing professions is increasing. The profession’s efforts to
establish a role in primary care are meeting resistance, and its
attempts to broaden its activities in alternative medicine have inherent
limitations. Although patients express a high level of satisfaction
with chiropractic treatment and politicians are sympathetic to it, this
may not be enough as our nation grapples to define the health care
system that it can afford.

Tags:

History, Medieval

ISLAM

Pharmacology

Psychiatry

Religion and Medicine

Notes:

Although psychiatric therapy and
pharmacology in Medieval Islam are based on the ancient Greek tradition,
the original Arabic contribution in the introduction and employment of
new substances is undeniable. Another important aspect which received a
decisive impetus by Arab physicians was the concept of psychical
therapy.

Tags:

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Tibetan Medicine and Regeneration

Type

Journal Article

Author

Lobsang Dhondup

Author

Cynthia Husted

Abstract

Multiple sclerosis is given as an example of how Tibetan medicine
treats disease with its understanding of the interplay of the five
elements, three humors, and their qualities and locations. The
three-humor interpretation agrees with the microscopic three-humor
description of demyelination. Treatments to promote regeneration include
complementary medicine.

Tags:

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Science and religion

Notes:

This paper evaluates claims that classical
Ayurveda was scientific, in a modern western sense, and that the many
religious and magical elements found in the texts were all either stale
Vedic remnants or later brahminic impositions. It argues (1) that
Ayurveda did not manifest standard criteria of “science” (e.g.,
materialism, empirical observation, experimentation, falsification,
quantification, or a developed conception of proof) and (2) that Vedic
aspects of the classical texts are too central to be considered
inauthentic or marginal. These points suggest that attempting to apply
the modern western categories of “science” and “religion” to ancient
South Asian medical texts at best obscures more important issues and, at
worst, imports inappropriate orientalist assumptions. Having set aside
the distraction of “science” vs. “religion” in classical Ayurveda, the
paper finds support for claims that brahminic elements were later
additions to the texts. It concludes by arguing that this is best
explained not in terms of a conceptual tension between religion and
science but in terms of social and economic tensions between physicians
and brahmins.

Illness and Shamanistic Curing in Zinacantan; an Ethnomedical Analysis

Type

Book

Author

Horacio Fabrega

Contributor

Daniel B Silver

Place

Stanford, Calif

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Date

1973

ISBN

0804708444

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Folklore

Indians, South American

Medicine, Primitive

MEXICO

TRADITIONAL medicine

Health Knowledge and Belief Systems in Africa

Type

Book

Author

Toyin Falola

Editor

Matthew M Heaton

Place

Durham, N.C

Publisher

Carolina Academic Press

Date

2008

ISBN

1594602433

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R651 .H43 2008

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Africa

Medical care

Social medicine

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Health care in sub-Saharan Africa is and
will continue to be an issue of utmost importance in the twenty-first
century. As the HIV/AIDS pandemic ravages the continent, the stakes
heighten not only to provide effective and efficient health care to
African communities, but also to disseminate knowledge about
health-seeking behavior and to instill belief among people in the
possibility of leading a healthy existence. Health Knowledge and Belief
Systems in Africa raises questions and offers analysis on many issues
related to how health and illness are understood by communities in
Africa, as well as how health knowledge and beliefs are disseminated and
utilized to provide health services to African populations. The
chapters in this book derive from many different disciplinary approaches
and cover regions across sub-Saharan Africa, thus offering a holistic
glimpse at the knowledge and belief systems functioning in Africa and
the ways that these systems contribute to health care access and
delivery in the world’s most endangered continent.

An Ontology of Health: A Characterization of Human Health and Existence

Type

Journal Article

Author

Ryan J. Fante

Abstract

The pursuit of health is one of the most basic and prevalent
concerns of humanity. In order to better attain and preserve health, a
fundamental and unified description of the concept is required. Using
Paul Tillich's ontological framework, I introduce a complete
characterization of health and disease is that is useful to the
philosophy of medicine and for health-care workers. Health cannot be
understood merely as proper functioning of the physical body or of the
separated levels of body, mind, and soul. Rather, the multidimensional
unity that is the essence of human life requires a new understanding of
health as balanced self-integration within the multiple human
dimensions. The ontological description of health and disease has
concrete implications for how health-care workers should approach
healing. It calls for a multidimensional approach to healing in which
particular healing is needed and helpful if it considers the other
realms of the human. It reveals the importance of accepting limited
health as well as the value of faith understood as an ultimate concern
because of its ability to wholly integrate the person.

Notes:

The pursuit of health is one of the most
basic and prevalent concerns of humanity. In order to better attain and
preserve health, a fundamental and unified description of the concept is
required. Using Paul Tillich’s ontological framework, I introduce a
complete characterization of health and disease is that is useful to the
philosophy of medicine and for health-care workers. Health cannot be
understood merely as proper functioning of the physical body or of the
separated levels of body, mind, and soul. Rather, the multidimensional
unity that is the essence of human life requires a new understanding of
health as balanced self-integration within the multiple human
dimensions. The ontological description of health and disease has
concrete implications for how health-care workers should approach
healing. It calls for a multidimensional approach to healing in which
particular healing is needed and helpful if it considers the other
realms of the human. It reveals the importance of accepting limited
health as well as the value of faith understood as an ultimate concern
because of its ability to wholly integrate the person.

"Gambling for Qi": Suicide and Family Politics in a Rural North China County

Tags:

Health and Religious Rituals in South Asia: Disease, Possession and Healing

Type

Book

Author

Fabrizio Ferrari

Series

Routledge South Asian Religion Series

Edition

1

Publisher

Routledge

Date

2010-06-15

ISBN

0415561450

Short Title

Health and Religious Rituals in South Asia

Library Catalog

Amazon.com

Date Added

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Modified

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Healing Ministries: Conversations on the Spiritual Dimensions of Health Care

Type

Book

Author

Joseph Henry Fichter

Place

New York

Publisher

Paulist Press

Date

1986

ISBN

0809128071

Short Title

Healing Ministries

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BT732

Date Added

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Tags:

Health

INTERVIEWS

MEDICAL personnel

Medicine

Religious aspects

Religious Therapeutics: Body and Health in Yoga, Ayurveda, and Tantra

Type

Book

Author

Gregory P Fields

Series

SUNY series in religious studies

Place

Albany

Publisher

State University of New York

Date

2001

ISBN

0791449157

Short Title

Religious Therapeutics

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R606 .F53 2001

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Human body

Medicine

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Religious aspects

Tantrism

yoga

Notes:

Religious Therapeutics explores the
relationship between psychophysical health and spiritual health and
presents a model for interpreting connections between religion and
medicine in world traditions. This model emerges from the work’s
investigation of health and religiousness in classical Yoga, Ayurveda,
and Tantra--three Hindu traditions noteworthy for the central role they
accord the body. Author Gregory P. Fields compares Anglo-European and
Indian philosophies of body and health and uses fifteen determinants of
health excavated from texts of ancient Hindu medicine to show that
health concerns the person, not the body or body/mind alone. This book
elucidates multifaceted views of health, and--in the context of
spirituality and healing--explores themes such as mental health,
meditation, and music.

Notes:

This paper argues that disease etiology is the key to cross-cultural
comparison of non-Western medical systems. Two principal etiologies are
identified: personalistic and naturalistic. Correlated with
personalistic etiologies are the belief that all misfortune, disease
included, is explained in the same way; illness, religion, and magic are
inseparable; the most powerful curers have supernatural and magical
powers, and their primary role is diagnostic. Correlated with
naturalistic etiologies are the belief that disease causality has
nothing to do with other misfortunes; religion and magic are largely
unrelated to illness; the principal curers lack supernatural or magical
powers, and their primary role is therapeutic.

On the Origin of Humoral Medicine in Latin America

Type

Journal Article

Author

George M. Foster

Abstract

For the past half-century humoral medicine has been recognized by
anthropologists to be the most important and widespread ethnomedical
system in Latin America. While most scholars believe this system is
largely a simplified folk variant of classical Greek and Persian humoral
pathology, a small minority--particularly Audrey Butt Colson and
Alfredo López Austin--argues for a New World origin. In this paper the
author supports the former hypothesis by tracing the well-documented
history of classical medicine from Greece and Persia to Latin America,
where it was disseminated via formal medical education, hospitals and
missionary orders, home medical guides and pharmacies. The fallacies in
the arguments of Colson and López Austin are also pointed out.

Notes:

For the past half-century humoral medicine
has been recognized by anthropologists to be the most important and
widespread ethnomedical system in Latin America. While most scholars
believe this system is largely a simplified folk variant of classical
Greek and Persian humoral pathology, a small minority--particularly
Audrey Butt Colson and Alfredo López Austin--argues for a New World
origin. In this paper the author supports the former hypothesis by
tracing the well-documented history of classical medicine from Greece
and Persia to Latin America, where it was disseminated via formal
medical education, hospitals and missionary orders, home medical guides
and pharmacies. The fallacies in the arguments of Colson and López
Austin are also pointed out.

Tags:

Behavior

Buddhism

Cross-Cultural Comparison

Culture

Hinduism

personality

Psychology

religion

Research

Sexuality

Notes:

This article outlines some of the major
Eastern sexual and spiritual traditions (primarily Hinduism, Taoism and
Tantrism), and discusses their relevance for the contemporary Western
world. The article begins by examining the sources of Eastern sexual
traditions, before and after the “Axial” period, the turning point at
which male consciousness and power gained ascendancy over the female
principle. Although a phallocentric view of the world came to dominate
the East, Eastern cultures -- unlike the West -- maintained a respect
for nature. According to this view, health and spirituality are gained
only when humanity respects its place in the cosmos and lives in harmony
with nature. The article then examines the sexual traditions of
Hinduism, in which sexual asceticism not only coexisted but also
complimented the celebration of sexual desire and pleasure. The article
then discusses the Taoist traditions, which, among other things,
stressed the importance of female sexual satisfaction. Taoism argued
that men cannot experience true sexual ecstasy unless they develop the
ability to control their ejaculation. The Tantric sexual tradition, the
article explains, maintained that ultimate sexual pleasure would enable
one to experience the true nature of reality. The article then goes on
to review variations of these traditions: the Hindu Tantric Doctrine
(Shaktism), the Buddhist Tantric Doctrine, and Tantra and Yoga. Finally,
the article considers the relevance of these Eastern philosophies to
the Western sexual tradition, which has tended to view sexuality as
antagonistic to spiritual liberation.

Ayurvedic Healing: A Comprehensive Guide

Type

Book

Author

David Frawley

Place

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publisher

Passage Press

Date

1989

ISBN

1878423002

Short Title

Ayurvedic Healing

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

WB 50 JI4 F8a 1989

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Herbal Medicine

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Notes:

The immensity of Ayurvedic material
and the preexisting vitriol for any attempt at studying it are enough of
a deterrent for anyone who wishes to make their mark on the academic
community. Yet David Frawley has made a valiant effort with Ayurvedic
Healing. Frawley’s presentation is solid, coherent, and contributive to
the greater knowledge base both in religious studies and medicine. While
topics such as astrology and gem therapy are so very difficult to
present in the mainstream, these aspects of spiritual healing are simply
part of the system; one cannot pick and choose parts when studying a
whole. Therefore, even with the shortfalls of Frawley’s work, the
underlying integral philosophy and suggestions for a new paradigm of
medicine are paramount to progress in the field of spirituality,
medicine, and health. In all, it is a very effective introduction to a
subject that warrants more scholarly eyes.

The standard narratives of medicine recognize its origins in natural
cures and in religious or spiritual discourses. The uneasy
relationships of such practices (now designated as complementary or
alternative medicine [CAM]) to conventional health care today can be
tracked to the formation of medicine as a distinct profession based on
modern science. The author accepts four statements as a framework for
exploring CAM in the context of modern medicine. The first is that all
versions of unconventional medicine depend for their identity on the
existence of conventional medicine. The second is that the distinctions
between alternative and conventional medicine are variables of time,
place, and the attitudes of health care practitioners. Third, CAM today
in the West occupies no sharp and distinctive category. There are
instead continuums of various slopes and lengths on which types of
complementary and alternative medicine are arrayed. Fourth, the turn to
CAM may represent a chronic (and, to some, welcome) inclination of the
human intellect to delimit the energies of material inquiries with
metaphysical baselines and options.

Notes:

The standard narratives of medicine
recognize its origins in natural cures and in religious or spiritual
discourses. The uneasy relationships of such practices (now designated
as complementary or alternative medicine [CAM]) to conventional health
care today can be tracked to the formation of medicine as a distinct
profession based on modern science. The author accepts four statements
as a framework for exploring CAM in the context of modern medicine. The
first is that all versions of unconventional medicine depend for their
identity on the existence of conventional medicine. The second is that
the distinctions between alternative and conventional medicine are
variables of time, place, and the attitudes of health care
practitioners. Third, CAM today in the West occupies no sharp and
distinctive category. There are instead continuums of various slopes and
lengths on which types of complementary and alternative medicine are
arrayed. Fourth, the turn to CAM may represent a chronic (and, to some,
welcome) inclination of the human intellect to delimit the energies of
material inquiries with metaphysical baselines and options.

Mesmerism and the American cure of souls

Type

Book

Author

Robert Fuller

Place

Philadelphia

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania Press

Date

1982

ISBN

9780812278477

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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Alternative Medicine and American Religious Life

Type

Book

Author

Robert C Fuller

Place

New York

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

1989

ISBN

0195057759

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R733 .F85 1989

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

1960-

Alternative medicine

religion

United States

Notes:

The late 1980s have seen an explosion of
interest in an unconventional, and sometimes bizarre, set of practices
and beliefs commonly called the New Age movement. Led by such visible
figures as Shirley MacLaine, thousands of Americans have turned to a
wide range of self-help methods and philosophies geared toward spiritual
fulfillment and, particularly, healing of the body, including
acupuncture, channeling, and crystals. What all these methods seem to
have in common is an attempt to eschew conventional medical treatments,
to move beyond the mysteries of the body to those of the psyche and
soul. But as Robert C. Fuller demonstrates in this fascinating and
surprising new book, such “alternative” forms of healing are nothing new
in American culture. Going back to the early nineteenth century, Fuller
asserts, Americans have relied on a bewildering assortment of
unorthodox medical systems that represent a characteristically American
strain of religious thought--a belief that spiritual, physical, and even
economic well-being flow from an individual’s rapport with the cosmos.
Drawing on a wealth of historical, psychological, and sociological
information, Fuller’s story begins with such early health reforms as
homeopathy, hydropathy, and Thomsonianism (which held that all disease
was caused by cold and could be cured by heat). Though fairly
conventional in outlook, they signaled the appearance of metaphysical
elements that were destined to erupt in later movements. Fuller then
looks at mesmerism and Swedenborgianism, which sprang up in the 1830s
and 40s. Both of these movements were extremely popular in America,
promising a triumph of piety and spirituality over the weaknesses of the
body and mind, and changing the way thousands of Americans looked at
modern medicine. Fuller traces this increasing metaphysical dimension,
first in the early practices of osteopathic and chiropractic medicine,
and then throughout the twentieth century in such varied and colorful
systems as crystal healing, rolfing, spirit channeling, holistic health,
and even Alcoholics Anonymous. Fuller argues that these healing
movements have played an important role in American religious life,
offering people a more vivid experience of a “sacred reality” than do
most organized religions. His fascinating and sympathetic look at this
thriving, and peculiarly American, mode of religion will interest a wide
range of readers interested in American religious, cultural, and
medical history.

Notes:

Transcultural nursing literature provides a
rich picture of prominent Chinese health-related beliefs derived from
the traditions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. However, these
traditional beliefs are being challenged and modified in response to
public discussion of a new spiritual movement, Falungong (also spelled
Falun Gong). This movement calling for personal and social renewal has
arisen in reaction to significant political and economic upheavals in
Chinese society. This paper presents an overview of the Falungong
movement and the health beliefs it advances. Implications for U.S.
nursing practice are discussed.

The five generations of American medical revolutions

Type

Journal Article

Author

R L Garrison

Abstract

Current medical authors frequently use the term "revolution," yet
American medicine is resisting change rather than embracing it. The last
completed American medical revolutionary movement was the
specialist-technologist movement of the late 19th and early 20th
centuries. This paper describes a five-generational model of revolution.
First-generation persons foment revolution; second-generation persons
shape it into workable form and precipitate conflict; third-generation
persons join the fight only when it appears to be all but won;
fourth-generation persons enjoy the fruits of revolution; and
fifth-generation persons, having risen to domination in the mature
system, resist all attempts at reform by the next round of
revolutionaries. In political revolutions, severe reactionary activity
by the ruling party is often an indicator of an imminent overthrow by
revolution. In scientific revolutions, the opposition of an established
(specialist-technologist) paradigm to an emerging alternative
(generalist) paradigm increases in intensity as the old order declines
in strength; the opposition becomes most fierce just before the collapse
of the old order. American specialist-technologist medicine, declining
into its senescent fifth generation, will resist all but incremental
change whenever possible, and accept major change only by force.

Tags:

Family Practice

Health Care Reform

History, 18th Century

History, 19th Century

History, 20th Century

Specialties, Medical

Technology, Medical

United States

Notes:

Current medical authors frequently use the
term “revolution,” yet American medicine is resisting change rather
than embracing it. The last completed American medical revolutionary
movement was the specialist-technologist movement of the late 19th and
early 20th centuries. This paper describes a five-generational model of
revolution. First-generation persons foment revolution;
second-generation persons shape it into workable form and precipitate
conflict; third-generation persons join the fight only when it appears
to be all but won; fourth-generation persons enjoy the fruits of
revolution; and fifth-generation persons, having risen to domination in
the mature system, resist all attempts at reform by the next round of
revolutionaries. In political revolutions, severe reactionary activity
by the ruling party is often an indicator of an imminent overthrow by
revolution. In scientific revolutions, the opposition of an established
(specialist-technologist) paradigm to an emerging alternative
(generalist) paradigm increases in intensity as the old order declines
in strength; the opposition becomes most fierce just before the collapse
of the old order. American specialist-technologist medicine, declining
into its senescent fifth generation, will resist all but incremental
change whenever possible, and accept major change only by force.

My Ishvara is dead: spiritual care on the fringes

Type

Journal Article

Author

Titus George

Abstract

Human suffering speaks differently to different lived contexts. In
this paper, I have taken a metaphoric representation of suffering,
Ishvara, from the lived context of a Hindu immigrant woman to show that
suffering is experienced and expressed within one's lived context.
Further, a dominant narrative from her world is presented to show that
the same lived context can be a resource for spiritual care that could
reconstruct her world that has fallen apart with a suffering experience.
Having argued that suffering is experienced and expressed within one's
lived context, and that lived context could be a resource, in this paper
I present that spiritual care is an intervention into the predicaments
of human suffering and its mandate is to facilitate certain direction
and a meaningful order through which experiences and expectations are
rejoined. Finally, I observe that spiritual care is an engagement
between the lived context where suffering is experienced and the
spiritual experience and orientation of the caregiver.

Publication

Journal of Religion and Health

Volume

49

Issue

4

Pages

581-590

Date

Dec 2010

Journal Abbr

J Relig Health

DOI

10.1007/s10943-009-9285-3

ISSN

1573-6571

Short Title

My Ishvara is dead

Accessed

Tuesday, January 18, 2011 7:03:37 PM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 19787453

Date Added

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Modified

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Other healers : unorthodox medicine in America

Type

Book

Author

Norman Gevitz

Place

Baltimore

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press

Date

1988

ISBN

9780801837104

Short Title

Other healers

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Notes:

Nine scholars
examine the history of social dynamics of alternative health practices
in this country. Editor Gevitz provides a historical and theoretical
overview, followed by essays on botanical, health reform, and water-cure
movements, homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic, Christian Science,
divine healing, and contemporary folk medicine. Admirably nonpolemical,
this book will be of interest to scholars in medical history, sociology,
and anthropology; American and women’s studies (the water cure having
feminist connections); and folklore.

The influence of Islam on AIDS prevention among Senegalese university students

Type

Journal Article

Author

Sarah S Gilbert

Abstract

Few studies have attempted to quantify Islam's contributions to
HIV/AIDS prevention. Senegal has involved Muslim leaders in its
prevention campaign for over a decade. Senegal also has the lowest
HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in sub-Saharan Africa. This study examines how
Islam influences AIDS prevention by testing whether Senegalese
participants' religiosity scores explain their risky decisions
associated with sex, condom use, and drug use. Participants with higher
religiosity scores were more likely to abstain from sex. However,
participants high in religiosity were not more likely to report that
they did not use condoms when sexually active.

Publication

AIDS Education and Prevention: Official Publication of the International Society for AIDS Education

Tags:

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

Adolescent

Adult

Female

Humans

ISLAM

Male

Questionnaires

Religion and Sex

Senegal

Sexual behavior

Students

Young Adult

Notes:

Few studies have attempted to quantify
Islam’s contributions to HIV/AIDS prevention. Senegal has involved
Muslim leaders in its prevention campaign for over a decade. Senegal
also has the lowest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in sub-Saharan Africa. This
study examines how Islam influences AIDS prevention by testing whether
Senegalese participants’ religiosity scores explain their risky
decisions associated with sex, condom use, and drug use. Participants
with higher religiosity scores were more likely to abstain from sex.
However, participants high in religiosity were not more likely to report
that they did not use condoms when sexually active.

Ethnomedical Systems in Africa: Patterns of Traditional Medicine in Rural and Urban Kenya

Type

Book

Author

Charles M Good

Place

New York

Publisher

Guilford Press

Date

1987

ISBN

0898627796

Short Title

Ethnomedical Systems in Africa

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR350 .G6 1987

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Africa

healing

TRADITIONAL medicine

Early American mesmeric societies: a historical study

Type

Journal Article

Author

M A Gravitz

Abstract

Following an unsuccessful attempt by Mesmer to bring animal
magnetism to the United States in 1784 through the Marquis de Lafayette,
there was a period of little activity there for several decades. Then,
concurrent with its revival in Europe and led by a few American
practitioners who had been trained in France, several early societies of
American magnetizers were founded beginning about 1815. These were
initially organized in New York City and subsequently in New Orleans,
Boston, Clinton, Cincinnati, Louisville, and Philadelphia. They played
an important role in the development of hypnosis in America.

Tags:

History, 18th Century

History, 19th Century

Humans

Hypnosis

Societies

United States

Notes:

Following an unsuccessful attempt by
Mesmer to bring animal magnetism to the United States in 1784 through
the Marquis de Lafayette, there was a period of little activity there
for several decades. Then, concurrent with its revival in Europe and led
by a few American practitioners who had been trained in France, several
early societies of American magnetizers were founded beginning about
1815. These were initially organized in New York City and subsequently
in New Orleans, Boston, Clinton, Cincinnati, Louisville, and
Philadelphia. They played an important role in the development of
hypnosis in America.

Spirits with Scalpels: The Cultural Biology of Religious Healing in Brazil

Type

Book

Author

Sidney M Greenfield

Place

Walnut Creek, CA

Publisher

Left Coast Press

Date

2008

ISBN

9781598743678

Short Title

Spirits with Scalpels

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GN564.B6 G74 2008

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Brazil

Ethnobiology

healing

religion

Religious life and customs

Social life and customs

Spirit possession

Spiritual Therapies

Surgical Procedures, Operative

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

“The first time I witnessed a Spiritist
surgery, a young man named Jose Carlos Ribeiro inserted a used scalpel
taken from a tray that I was holding, and plunged it into the eye of an
elderly man. The patient did not move….” Decades of fieldwork later,
Sidney Greenfield presents a riveting ethnography of the complex world
of religious healing in Brazil that challenges readers to grapple with
the most fundamental concepts of anthropology and cross-cultural
experience. In a major contribution to cultural biology, he analyses the
complex social, economic, and political landscape of Brazil to
understand dramatic healing practices that seem to defy medical
explanation. This engrossing and provocative book will put students and
scholars alike on the edge of their seats.

Human nature and the nature of reality: conceptual challenges from consciousness research

Type

Journal Article

Author

S Grof

Abstract

Holotropic states (a large special subgroup of nonordinary states of
consciousness) have been the focus of many fields of modern research,
such as experiential psychotherapy, clinical and laboratory work with
psychedelic substances, field anthropology, thanatology, and therapy
with individuals undergoing psychospiritual crises ("spiritual
emergencies"). This research has generated a plethora of extraordinary
observations that have undermined some of the most fundamental
assumptions of modern psychiatry, psychology, and psychotherapy. Some of
these new findings seriously challenge the most basic philosophical
tenets of Western science concerning the relationship between matter,
life, and consciousness. This article summarizes the most important
major revisions that would have to be made in our understanding of
consciousness and of the human psyche in health and disease to
accommodate these conceptual challenges. These areas of changes include:
a new understanding and cartography of the human psyche; the nature and
architecture of emotional and psychosomatic disorders; therapeutic
mechanisms and the process of healing; the strategy of psychotherapy and
self-exploration; the role of spirituality in human life; and the
nature of reality.

Tags:

Consciousness

Emotions

Humans

Psychology

Psychotherapy

Notes:

Holotropic states (a large special
subgroup of nonordinary states of consciousness) have been the focus of
many fields of modern research, such as experiential psychotherapy,
clinical and laboratory work with psychedelic substances, field
anthropology, thanatology, and therapy with individuals undergoing
psychospiritual crises (“spiritual emergencies”). This research has
generated a plethora of extraordinary observations that have undermined
some of the most fundamental assumptions of modern psychiatry,
psychology, and psychotherapy. Some of these new findings seriously
challenge the most basic philosophical tenets of Western science
concerning the relationship between matter, life, and consciousness.
This article summarizes the most important major revisions that would
have to be made in our understanding of consciousness and of the human
psyche in health and disease to accommodate these conceptual challenges.
These areas of changes include: a new understanding and cartography of
the human psyche; the nature and architecture of emotional and
psychosomatic disorders; therapeutic mechanisms and the process of
healing; the strategy of psychotherapy and self-exploration; the role of
spirituality in human life; and the nature of reality.

Rituals and Medicines: Indigenous Healing in South Africa

Type

Book

Author

W. D Hammond-Tooke

Series

Paper books

Place

Johannesburg

Publisher

Ad. Donker

Date

1989

ISBN

0868521108

Short Title

Rituals and Medicines

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR350 .H28 1989

Date Added

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Tags:

Africa

Religious life and customs

Spirit possession

Spiritual healing

TRADITIONAL medicine

Magical Medicine: The Folkloric Component of Medicine In the Folk
Belief, Custom, and Ritual of the Peoples of Europe and America:
Selected Essays of Wayland D. Hand

Type

Book

Author

Wayland Debs Hand

Place

Berkeley

Publisher

University of California Press

Date

1980

ISBN

0520041291

Short Title

Magical Medicine

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR880 .H35

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Tags:

Europe

Medicine, Magic, mystic, and spagiric

TRADITIONAL medicine

United States

Health and Medicine in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition: Faith, Liturgy, and Wholeness

Type

Book

Author

Stanley S Harakas

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1990

ISBN

082450934X

Short Title

Health and Medicine in the Eastern Orthodox Tradition

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX323 .H35 1990

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Tags:

Health

Medicine

Religious aspects

Present at the creation: the clinical pastoral movement and the origins of the dialogue between religion and psychiatry

Type

Journal Article

Author

Curtis W Hart

Author

M Div

Abstract

The contemporary dialogue between religion and psychiatry has its
roots in what is called the clinical pastoral movement. The early
leaders of the clinical pastoral movement (Anton Boisen, Elwood
Worcester, Helen Flanders Dunbar, and Richard Cabot) were individuals of
talent, even genius, whose lives and work intersected one another in
the early decades of the twentieth century. Their legacy endures in the
persons they inspired and continue to inspire and in the professional
organizations and academic programs that profit from their pioneering
work. To understand them and the era of their greatest productivity is
to understand some of what psychiatry and religion have to say to each
other. Appreciating their legacy requires attention to the context of
historical movements and forces current in America at the end of the
nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth century that shaped
religious, psychiatric, and cultural discourse. This essay attempts to
provide an introduction to this rich and fascinating material. This
material was first presented as a Grand Rounds lecture at The New York
Presbyterian Hospital, Payne Whitney Westchester in the Department of
Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical College.

Tags:

Suffering presence : theological reflections on medicine, the mentally handicapped, and the church

Type

Book

Author

Stanley Hauerwas

Place

Notre Dame Ind.

Publisher

University of Notre Dame Press

Date

1986

ISBN

9780268017217

Short Title

Suffering presence

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Naming the silences : God, medicine, and the problem of suffering

Type

Book

Author

Stanley Hauerwas

Place

Grand Rapids Mich.

Publisher

Wm. B. Eerdmans

Date

1990

ISBN

9780802804969

Short Title

Naming the silences

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Notes:

Hauerwas explores why we so fervently seek
explanations for suffering and evil, and he shows how modern medicine
has become a god to which we look--in vain--for deliverance from the
evils of disease and mortality.

Making medicine indigenous: homeopathy in South India

Type

Journal Article

Author

Gary J Hausman

Publication

Social History of Medicine: The Journal of the Society for the Social History of Medicine / SSHM

Tags:

Colonialism

History, 20th Century

Homeopathy

India

Medicine, Traditional

Political Systems

Science

Notes:

Historical studies of homeopathy in Europe
and the USA have focused on practitioners’ attempts to emphasize
‘modern’ and ‘scientific’ approaches. Studies of homeopathy in India
have focused on a process of Indianization. Arguing against such
unilineal trajectories, this paper situates homeopathy in South India
within the context of shifting relations between ‘scientific’ and
‘indigenous’ systems of medicine. Three time periods are considered.
From 1924 through 1934, homeopathy was singled out by Government of
Madras officials as ‘scientific’, as contrasted with the ‘indigenous’
Ayurvedic, Siddha, and Unani systems of medicine. From 1947 through
1960, both ‘indigenous’ and ‘scientific’ interpretations of homeopathy
were put forward by different factions. An honorary director of
homeopathy proposed the Indianization of homeopathy, and its
reconciliation with Ayurveda; this view conflicted with the Madras
government’s policy of expanding the ‘scientific’ medical curriculum of
the Government College of Indigenous Medicine. It was not until the
early 1970s that homeopathy was officially recognized in Tamilnadu
State. By then, both homeopathy and Ayurveda had become conceptualized
as non-Tamil, in contrast with promotion of the Tamil Siddha system of
‘indigenous’ medicine. Thus, constructs of ‘indigenous’ and ‘scientific’
systems of medicine are quite malleable with respect to homeopathy in
South India.

Abortion and Islam: policies and practice in the Middle East and North Africa

Type

Journal Article

Author

Leila Hessini

Abstract

This paper provides an overview of legal, religious, medical and
social factors that serve to support or hinder women's access to safe
abortion services in the 21 predominantly Muslim countries of the Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) region, where one in ten pregnancies ends
in abortion. Reform efforts, including progressive interpretations of
Islam, have resulted in laws allowing for early abortion on request in
two countries; six others permit abortion on health grounds and three
more also allow abortion in cases of rape or fetal impairment. However,
medical and social factors limit access to safe abortion services in all
but Turkey and Tunisia. To address this situation, efforts are
increasing in a few countries to introduce post-abortion care, document
the magnitude of unsafe abortion and understand women's experience of
unplanned pregnancy. Religious fatāwa have been issued allowing
abortions in certain circumstances. An understanding of variations in
Muslim beliefs and practices, and the interplay between politics,
religion, history and reproductive rights is key to understanding
abortion in different Muslim societies. More needs to be done to build
on efforts to increase women's rights, engage community leaders, support
progressive religious leaders and government officials and promote
advocacy among health professionals.

Notes:

This paper provides an overview of legal,
religious, medical and social factors that serve to support or hinder
women’s access to safe abortion services in the 21 predominantly Muslim
countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, where one
in ten pregnancies ends in abortion. Reform efforts, including
progressive interpretations of Islam, have resulted in laws allowing for
early abortion on request in two countries; six others permit abortion
on health grounds and three more also allow abortion in cases of rape or
fetal impairment. However, medical and social factors limit access to
safe abortion services in all but Turkey and Tunisia. To address this
situation, efforts are increasing in a few countries to introduce
post-abortion care, document the magnitude of unsafe abortion and
understand women’s experience of unplanned pregnancy. Religious fatawa
have been issued allowing abortions in certain circumstances. An
understanding of variations in Muslim beliefs and practices, and the
interplay between politics, religion, history and reproductive rights is
key to understanding abortion in different Muslim societies. More needs
to be done to build on efforts to increase women’s rights, engage
community leaders, support progressive religious leaders and government
officials and promote advocacy among health professionals.

Ayurveda: The Indian Art of Natural Medicine and Life Extension

Type

Book

Author

Birgit Heyn

Edition

1st Quality Paperback Ed

Publisher

Healing Arts Press

Date

1990-04-01

ISBN

0892813334

Short Title

Ayurveda

Library Catalog

Amazon.com

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Tags:

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Health Care and Traditional Medicine in China, 1800-1982

Type

Book

Author

S. M Hillier

Author

J. A Jewell

Place

London

Publisher

Routledge & Kegan Paul

Date

1983

ISBN

0710094256

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R601 .H5 1983

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Tags:

China

History

Medical care

Medicine

MEDICINE, Chinese

Notes:

Beginning with the period of the early
expansion of Western missionary medicine, this account covers the
chaotic years of Nationalist rule to the foundations of the People’s
Republic in 1949. It trances the major influences on health care since
then and describes the conflicts of State bureaucracy, Party and medical
profession in their attempts to match political objectives in health
care to resources available.

Health and Medicine in the Methodist Tradition: Journey Toward Wholeness

Type

Book

Author

E. Brooks Holifield

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1986

ISBN

0824507924

Short Title

Health and Medicine in the Methodist Tradition

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX8349.H4

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Tags:

Doctrines

Health

Medicine

Methodist Church

Religious aspects

Voices of Qi: An Introductory Guide to Traditional Chinese Medicine

Type

Book

Author

Alex Holland

Publisher

North Atlantic Books

Date

2000

ISBN

9781556433269

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Notes:

The physiological systems through which
traditional Chinese medicine works are discussed, as well as
acupuncture, moxibustion, Chinese herbal medicine, and how to select a
practitioner.

Shamanic Healing and Ritual Drama: Health and Medicine in Native North American Religious Traditions

Type

Book

Author

Åke Hultkrantz

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1992

ISBN

0824511883

Short Title

Shamanic Healing and Ritual Drama

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

E98.R3 H825 1992

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Health and hygiene

Indians of North America

Indians, North American

Medicine

Medicine, Traditional

Mythology

North America

religion

Religion and Medicine

Shamanism

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

In this pioneering work, one of the
world’s leading experts on Native American traditions offers a detailed
survey of Native American practices and beliefs regarding health,
medicine, and religion. In contrast to the sharp Euro-American division
between medicine and religion, Native American medical beliefs and
practices can only be assessed in their relation to their religious
ideas.

Reproductive issues from the Islamic perspective

Type

Journal Article

Author

Fatima Husain

Abstract

The Islamic faith is regarded by its followers, Muslims, as a
complete way of life. A multitude of nationalities practise Islam and
also various sects, and as a result there are various interpretations of
Qur'anic guidance relating to almost every matter. Only a fully
qualified jurist of the highest rank can issue edicts on problems that
are not already clearly addressed in the Qur'an. This applies to
contemporary issues and any Muslim is at liberty to debate and dialogue
with the religious leader to obtain a ruling on a specific question.
Marriage is described as half the faith in Islam and to have children is
seen as a great blessing. There is no religious objection to an
infertile married couple pursuing any form of infertility treatment
including in vitro fertilization, surgical sperm retrieval and
micro-assisted conception methods. However, there must be strict control
to ensure that the gametes belong to the husband and wife. This
relationship is described as 'halal' (permitted), whereas any union of
gametes outside a marital bond, whether by adultery or in the
laboratory, is 'haraam' (forbidden). Therefore, donor sperm pregnancies
are strictly forbidden in all schools of Islamic law. The advent of ovum
donation and surrogacy has led some Islamic scholars to allow this
procedure between co-wives thereby avoiding the 'haraam' relationship
between sperm and egg, but there is still debate on the definition of
the mother. Similarly, treating any other situation outside a marriage
relationship, for example fertilization of an ovum from cryopreserved
sperm after divorce of the couple or death of the husband would be
'haraam' and strictly forbidden. The Qur'anic guidance is quite clear
that the couple can pursue all permitted treatments but may need to
accept that they may not achieve a pregnancy. Adoption is encouraged in
Islam with the specific rule that the child must be able to identify its
biological father by keeping his name. It must be emphasized that
Muslims will vary on their degree of adherence to the faith and the
practitioner should present all the options to the couple without
assuming which treatments they will or will not accept.

Notes:

The Islamic
faith is regarded by its followers, Muslims, as a complete way of life. A
multitude of nationalities practice Islam and also various sects, and
as a result there are various interpretations of Qur’anic guidance
relating to almost every matter. Only a fully qualified jurist of the
highest rank can issue edicts on problems that are not already clearly
addressed in the Qur’an. This applies to contemporary issues and any
Muslim is at liberty to debate and dialogue with the religious leader to
obtain a ruling on a specific question. Marriage is described as half
the faith in Islam and to have children is seen as a great blessing.
There is no religious objection to an infertile married couple pursuing
any form of infertility treatment including in vitro fertilization,
surgical sperm retrieval and micro-assisted conception methods. However,
there must be strict control to ensure that the gametes belong to the
husband and wife. This relationship is described as ‘halal’ (permitted),
whereas any union of gametes outside a marital bond, whether by
adultery or in the laboratory, is ‘haraam’ (forbidden). Therefore, donor
sperm pregnancies are strictly forbidden in all schools of Islamic law.
The advent of ovum donation and surrogacy has led some Islamic scholars
to allow this procedure between co-wives thereby avoiding the ‘haraam’
relationship between sperm and egg, but there is still debate on the
definition of the mother. Similarly, treating any other situation
outside a marriage relationship, for example fertilization of an ovum
from cryopreserved sperm after divorce of the couple or death of the
husband would be ‘haraam’ and strictly forbidden. The Qur’anic guidance
is quite clear that the couple can pursue all permitted treatments but
may need to accept that they may not achieve a pregnancy. Adoption is
encouraged in Islam with the specific rule that the child must be able
to identify its biological father by keeping his name. It must be
emphasized that Muslims will vary on their degree of adherence to the
faith and the practitioner should present all the options to the couple
without assuming which treatments they will or will not accept.

Karma, reincarnation, and medicine: Hindu perspectives on biomedical research

Notes:

Prior to the completion of the Human
Genome Project, bioethicists and other academics debated the impact of
this new genetic information on medicine, health care, group
identification, and peoples’ lives. A major issue is the potential for
unintended and intended adverse consequences to groups and individuals.
When conducting research in, for instance, American Indian and Alaskan
native (AI/AN) populations, political, cultural, religious and
historical issues must be considered. Among African Americans, the
Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment is a reminder of racism and discrimination
in this country. The goal of the current study is to understand reasons
for participating, or not, in genetic research such as the HapMap
project and other genetic/medical research from the perspective of the
Indian American community in Houston, Texas. In this article, we report
on a topic central to this discussion among Indian Americans: karma and
reincarnation. Both concepts are important beliefs when considering the
body and what should happen to it. Karma and reincarnation are also
important considerations in participation in medical and genetic
research because, according to karma, what is done to the body can
affect future existences and the health of future descendants. Such
views of genetic and medical research are culturally mediated. Spiritual
beliefs about the body, tissue, and fluids and what happens to them
when separated from the body can influence ideas about the utility and
acceptability of genetic research and thereby affect the recruitment
process. Within this community it is understood that genetic and
environmental factors contribute to complex diseases such as diabetes,
hypertension, and cancer; and acknowledgment of the significance of
environmental stressors in the production of disease. A commitment to
service, i.e. “betterment of humanity,” karmic beliefs, and targeting
environmental stressors could be prominent avenues for public health
campaigns in this population. This study suggests that minority status
does not automatically indicate unwillingness to participate in genetic
or medical research. Indian Americans were not skeptical about the
potential benefits of biomedical research in comparison to other ethnic
minority communities in the United States.

Medicine of the Prophet

Type

Book

Author

Muhammad ibn Ab¯i Bakr Ibn Qayyim al-Jawz¯iyah

Place

Cambridge

Publisher

Islamic Texts Society

Date

1998

ISBN

0946621195

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BP166.72

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Tags:

History of Medicine, Medieval

ISLAM

Medicine

Medicine in the Koran

Medicine, Arab

Medicine, Arabic

Medicine, Medieval

Religion and Medicine

Religious aspects

Notes:

This book is a combination of religious
and medical information, providing advice and guidance on the two aims
of medicine - the preservation and restoration of health - in careful
conformity with the teachings of Islam as enshrined in the Qur’an and
the hadith, or sayings of the Prophet. Written in the fourteenth century
by the renowned theologian Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyya (d. 751AH/1350AD) as
part of his work Zad al-Ma’ad, this book is a mine of information on the
customs and sayings of the Prophet, as well as on herbal and medical
practices current at the time of the author. In bringing together these
two aspects, Ibn Qayyim has produced a concise summary of how the
Prophet’s guidance and teaching can be followed, as well as how health,
sickness and cures were viewed by Muslims in the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries. The original Arabic text offers an authoritative
compendium of Islamic medicine and still enjoys much popularity in the
Muslim world. This English translation is a more complete presentation
than has previously been available and includes verification of all
hadith references. Medicine of the Prophet will appeal not only to those
interested in alternative systems of health and medicine, but also to
people wishing to acquaint themselves with, or increase their knowledge
of, hadith and the religion and culture of Islam.

Notes:

This article presents a cultural and
historical analysis of 20th-century Tibetan medicine. In its expansion
into the state bureaucracy, Tibetan medicine has acceded to
institutional modernity through transformations in theory, practice, and
methods for training physicians. Despite Chinese rule in Tibet,
however, Tibetan medicine has not yielded completely to state interests.
With the collapsing of the traditionally pluralistic Tibetan health
system into the professional sector of Tibetan medicine, contemporary
Tibetan medicine has become to the laity a font of ethnic revitalization
and resistance to the modernization policies of the Chinese state.
These processes are particularly evident in the elaboration of disorders
of rlung, a class of sicknesses that, collectively, have come to
symbolize the suffering inherent in rapid social, economic, and
political change.

African Culture and Health

Type

Book

Author

Ayodele Samuel Jegede

Place

Ibadan, Nigeria

Publisher

Stirling-Horden

Date

1998

ISBN

9782063525

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

RA418.3.N6 J445 1998

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Tags:

Attitude to Health

Community Health Services

Ethnology

HEALTH attitudes

Health Behavior

Immunization of children

Medical care

Nigeria

Social life and customs

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

A book about African traditional perceptions of health, disease,
illness, and sickness. Based on research study in Nigeria, the author
surveys sociocultural factors influencing theraeutic choice, the role of
education, information and communication in health care delivery. The
author also discusses new ideas about health care programs and
services.

Chinese medicine in post-Mao China : standardization and the context of modern science

Type

Book

Author

Huanguang Jia

Date

1997

Short Title

Chinese medicine in post-Mao China

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Native American Traditional and Alternative Medicine

Type

Journal Article

Author

Susan L. Johnston

Abstract

Native American traditional medicine is alive and vibrant in many
North American societies, although not all. These traditions coexist
with other forms of healing, and the particular patterns of existence,
interaction, and meaning vary among groups. The literature examining
these issues is likewise diverse. This article explores, through a
selective review of the recent literature, how social and behavioral
scientists, among others, are focusing their investigations of
traditional and alternative medicine in Native American communities of
the United States and Canada today. Issues include how native practices
have persisted and changed, how they are being used (e. g., in framing
cultural identity), and how they interact with other systems, especially
biomedicine and faith healing.

Notes:

Native American traditional medicine is
alive and vibrant in many North American societies, although not all.
These traditions coexist with other forms of healing, and the particular
patterns of existence, interaction, and meaning vary among groups. The
literature examining these issues is likewise diverse. This article
explores, through a selective review of the recent literature, how
social and behavioral scientists, among others, are focusing their
investigations of traditional and alternative medicine in Native
American communities of the United States and Canada today. Issues
include how native practices have persisted and changed, how they are
being used (e.g, in framing cultural identity), and how they interact
with other systems, especially biomedicine and faith healing.

Tags:

Algorithms

Biometry

Complementary Therapies

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Qi

Regression Analysis

Notes:

Objective: To compute quantitative
estimates of the tridosha--the qualitative characterization that
constitutes the core of diagnosis and treatment in Ayurveda--to provide a
basis for biostatistical analysis of this ancient Indian science, which
is a promising field of alternative medicine. SUBJECTS: The data
sources were 280 persons from among the residents and visitors/training
students at the Brahmvarchas Research Centre and Shantikuj, Hardwar,
India. DESIGN/METHODOLOGY: A quantitative measure of the tridosha level
(for vata, pitta, and kapha) is obtained by applying an algorithmic
heuristic approach to the exhaustive list of qualitative
features/factors that are commonly used by Ayurvedic doctors. A
knowledge-based concept of worth coefficients and fuzzy multiattribute
decision functions are used here for regression modeling. VALIDATION AND
APPLICATIONS: Statistical validation on a large sample shows the
accuracy of this study’s estimates with statistical confidence level
above 90%. The estimates are also suited for diagnostic and prognostic
applications and systematic drug-response analysis of Ayurvedic (herbal
and rasayanam) medicines. An application with regard to the former is
elucidated, extensions of which might also be of use in investigating
the role of nadis in Ayurvedic healing vis-a-vis acupuncture and
acupressure techniques. The importance and scope of this novel approach
are discussed. Conclusions: This pioneering study shows that the concept
of tridosha has a sound empirical basis that could be used for the
scientific establishment of Ayurveda in a new light.

Shamanism and Christianity: Modern-Day Tlingit Elders Look at the Past

Type

Journal Article

Author

Sergei Kan

Abstract

Shamanism, a key element of the precontact Tlingit culture, was seen
by Christian missionaries as one of the worst manifestations of
paganism. A relentless campaign waged against the shamans by the
missionaries, with the help of military and civil authorities,
succeeded: by the final decades of the nineteenth century, the Tlingit
had converted to Christianity, and by the 1930s most of the shamans had
disappeared. In their effort to reconcile Christianity and the
"traditional culture," modern-day Tlingit elders construct various
interpretations of shamanism. The article examines these accounts as
indigenous history and as ideological statements that challenge the
notion of the inferiority of the aboriginal Tlingit religion to
Christianity.

Notes:

Shamanism, a key element of the precontact
Tlingit culture, was seen by Christian missionaries as one of the worst
manifestations of paganism. A relentless campaign waged against the
shamans by the missionaries, with the help of military and civil
authorities, succeeded: by the final decades of the nineteenth century,
the Tlingit had converted to Christianity, and by the 1930s most of the
shamans had disappeared. In their effort to reconcile Christianity and
the “traditional culture,” modern-day Tlingit elders construct various
interpretations of shamanism. The article examines these accounts as
indigenous history and as ideological statements that challenge the
notion of the inferiority of the aboriginal Tlingit religion to
Christianity.

Self as Body in Asian Theory and Practice

Type

Book

Author

Thomas P Kasulis

Author

Roger T Aimes

Author

Wimal Dissanayake

Series

SUNY series, the body in culture, history, and religion

Place

Albany

Publisher

State University of New York Press

Date

1993

ISBN

079141079X

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

B105.B64 S45 1993

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Tags:

ASIA

History

Human body (Philosophy)

Mind and body

Self (Philosophy)

American Indian Healing Arts: Herbs, Rituals, and Remedies for Every Season of Life

Notes:

Explicitly dealing with the religious
aspects of healing and healers, this unique and intriguing book examines
illness, healing, and religion in cross-cultural perspective by looking
at how sickness is understood and treated in a wide variety of
cultures. Centered around three principle themes, the text: A)
illustrates how crucial it is to frame illness in a meaningful context
in every culture and how this process is almost always bound up with
religious, spiritual, and moral concerns; B) shows how many beliefs,
strategies, and practices that characterize traditional cultures also
appear in Christianity, putting healing in the Christian tradition in a
broad, rational context, and; C) discusses the continuities between
traditional, explicitly religious, and modern medical cultures —
demonstrating that many features of modern scientific medicine are
symbolic and ritualistic, and that many aspects and practices of modern
medicine are similar to healing as seen in traditional, pre-scientific
medical cultures.

Herbal and Magical Medicine: Traditional Healing Today

Type

Book

Editor

James Kirkland

Place

Durham

Publisher

Duke University Press

Date

1992

ISBN

0822312085

Short Title

Herbal and Magical Medicine

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR110.V8 H47 1992

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Tags:

Medicine, Traditional

North Carolina

TRADITIONAL medicine

Virginia

Notes:

Herbal and Magical Medicine draws on
perspectives from folklore, anthropology, psychology, medicine, and
botany to describe the traditional medical beliefs and practices among
Native, Anglo- and African Americans in eastern North Carolina and
Virginia. In documenting the vitality of such seemingly unusual healing
traditions as talking the fire out of burns, wart-curing,
blood-stopping, herbal healing, and rootwork, the contributors to this
volume demonstrate how the region’s folk medical systems operate in
tandem with scientific biomedicine. The authors provide illuminating
commentary on the major forms of naturopathic and magico-religious
medicine practiced in the United States. Other essays explain the
persistence of these traditions in our modern technological society and
address the bases of folk medical concepts of illness and treatment and
the efficacy of particular pratices. The collection suggests a model for
collaborative research on traditional medicine that can be replicated
in other parts of the country. An extensive bibliography reveals the
scope and variety of research in the field.

Tags:

Health

Hygiene, Taoist

Religious aspects

Notes:

Presented by a group of dedicated scholars
and practitioners, this volume covers the key practices of medical
healing, breathing techniques, diets and fasting, healing exercises,
sexual practices, Qigong, and Taiji quan.

Indigenous Medicine and Knowledge in African Society

Type

Book

Author

Kwasi Konadu

Place

New York

Publisher

Routledge

Date

2007

ISBN

9780415956208

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GN645 .K65 2007

Date Added

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Tags:

Africa

Medical anthropology

Medicinal plants

Social life and customs

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

At the turn of the 20thcentury,
African societies witnessed the suppression of indigenous healing
specialists as missionary proselytization and colonial rule increased.
Governments, medical practitioners and academics focused little
attention or resources on the production of traditional medicine,
despite its potential use for advancing health care delivery to millions
of people in rural communities and providing the basis for a medicinal
industry. Focusing on the case of Ghana, Indigenous Medicine and Knowledge in African Society
investigates the ways in which healers and indigenous archives of
cultural knowledge conceptualize and interpret medicine and healing. In
order to unearth these prevailing concepts, Konadu utilizes in-depth
interviews, plant samples, material culture, linguistics, and other
sources. This groundbreaking study of indigenous knowledge has important
implications for the study of medical and knowledge systems in Africa
and the African Diaspora worldwide. By closely examining a range of
multidisciplinary sources and utilizing fieldwork in the Takyiman
district of central Ghana, the book contributes a new dimension to the
study of health and healing systems in the African context and offers
scholars, students, and general readers a vital reference.

The Expressiveness of the Body and the Divergence of Greek and Chinese Medicine

Tags:

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Notes:

Ayurveda is a Sanskrit word derived from two roots: ayur, which means
life, and veda, knowledge. Knowledge arranged systematically with logic
becomes science. During the due course of time, Ayurveda became the
science of life. It has its root in ancient vedic literature and
encompasses our entire life, the body, mind, and spirit.

The Performance of Healing

Type

Book

Author

Carol Laderman

Contributor

Marina Roseman

Place

New York

Publisher

Routledge

Date

1996

ISBN

0415911990

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR880 .P38 1996

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Tags:

Folklore

Performance

Shamanism

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Medical systems need to be understood from
within, as experienced by healers, patients, and others whose minds and
hearts have both become involved in this important human undertaking.
Exploring how the performance of healing transforms illness to health,
initiate to ritual specialist, the authors show that performance does
not merely refer to, but actually does something in the world. These
essays on the performance of healing in societies ranging from
rainforest horticulturalists to dwellers in the American megalopolis
will touch readers’ senses as well as their intellects.

Taming the Wind of Desire: Psychology, Medicine, and Aesthetics in Malay Shamanistic Performance

Type

Book

Author

Carol Laderman

Series

Comparative studies of health systems and medical care

Place

Berkeley, CA

Publisher

University of California Press

Date

1991

ISBN

0520069161

Short Title

Taming the Wind of Desire

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

DS595 .L33 1991

Date Added

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Tags:

Kampong Merchang (Terengganu)

Malays (Asian people)

Medicine

religion

Shamanism

Social life and customs

Terengganu

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Charged with restoring harmony and
relieving pain, the Malay shaman places his patients in trance and
encourages them to express their talents, drives, personality traits –
the “Inner Winds” of Malay medical lore – in a kind of performance.
These healing ceremonies, formerly viewed by Western anthropologists as
exotic curiosities, actually reveal complex multicultural origins and a
unique indigenous medical tradition whose psychological content is
remarkably relevant to contemporary Western concerns. Accepted as
apprentice to a Malay shaman, Carol Laderman learned and recorded every
aspect of the healing seance and found it comparable in many ways to the
traditional dramas of Southeast Asia and of other cultures such as
ancient Greece, Japan, and India. The Malay seance is a total
performance, complete with audience, stage, props, plot, music, and
dance. The players include the patient along with the shaman and his
troupe. At the center of the drama are pivotal relationships among
people, between humans and spirits, and within the self. The best of the
Malay shamans are superb poets, dramatists, and performers as well as
effective healers of body and soul.

African Traditional Beliefs: Concepts of Health and Medical Practice

Type

Book

Author

Thomas A Lambo

Author

University of Ibadan

Place

Ibadan

Publisher

Ibadan University Press

Date

1963

Short Title

African Traditional Beliefs

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R651 .L35

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Africa

Medicine

TRADITIONAL medicine

Portals of Power: Shamanism in South America

Type

Book

Author

E. Jean Matteson Langdon

Editor

Gerhard Baer

Edition

1st ed

Place

Albuquerque

Publisher

University of New Mexico Press

Date

1992

ISBN

0826313450

Short Title

Portals of Power

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

F2230.1.R3 P65 1992

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Hallucinogenic drugs and religious experience

Hallucinogens

Indians of South America

Indians, South American

Medicine, Traditional

religion

Religion and Medicine

Rites and ceremonies

Shamanism

South America

TRADITIONAL medicine

Fluent bodies : Ayurvedic remedies for postcolonial imbalance

Type

Book

Author

Jean Langford

Place

Durham

Publisher

Duke University Press

Date

2002

ISBN

9780822329312

Short Title

Fluent bodies

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Notes:

Fluent Bodies examines the modernization
of the indigenous healing practice, Ayurveda, in India. Combining
contemporary ethnography with a study of key historical moments as
glimpsed through early-twentieth-century texts, Jean M. Langford argues
that as Ayurveda evolved from an eclectic set of healing practices into a
sign of Indian national culture, it was reimagined as a healing force
not simply for bodily disorders but for colonial and postcolonial ills.

Tags:

ASIA

Congresses

East Asia

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Medicine, Oriental

Medicine, Oriental Traditional

Notes:

The essays in this book ask how patients
and practitioners know what they know-what evidence of disease or health
they consider convincing and what cultural traditions and symbols guide
their thinking. Whether discussing Japanese anatomy texts, Islamic
humoralism, Ayurvedic clinical practice, or a variety of other subjects,
the authors offer an exciting range of information and suggest new
theoretical avenues for medical anthropology.

Notes:

This paper presents, for the first time, a comprehensive scholarly
examination of the history and principles of major traditions of
esoteric healing. After a brief conceptual overview of esoteric religion
and healing, summaries are provided of eight major esoteric traditions,
including descriptions of beliefs and practices related to health,
healing, and medicine. These include what are termed the kabbalistic
tradition, the mystery school tradition, the gnostic tradition, the
brotherhoods tradition, the Eastern mystical tradition, the Western
mystical tradition, the shamanic tradition, and the new age tradition.
Next, commonalities across these traditions are summarized with respect
to beliefs and practices related to anatomy and physiology; nosology and
etiology; pathophysiology; and therapeutic modalities. Finally, the
implications of this survey of esoteric healing are discussed for
clinicians, biomedical researchers, and medical educators.

The Medicine Men: Oglala Sioux Ceremony and Healing

Type

Book

Author

Thomas H Lewis

Series

Studies in the anthropology of North American Indians

Place

Lincoln

Publisher

University of Nebraska Press

Date

1990

ISBN

0803228902

Short Title

The Medicine Men

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

E99.O3 L49 1990

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Medicine

Oglala Indians

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (S.D.)

Rites and ceremonies

Social life and customs

South Dakota

Sun dance

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

For the residents of the Pine Ridge
reservation in South Dakota, mainstream medical care is often
supplemented or replaced by a host of traditional practices:
the Sun Dance, the yuwipi sing, the heyok’a ceremony, herbalism,
the Sioux Religion, the peyotism of the Native American Church, and
other medicines, or sources of healing. Thomas H. Lewis, a psychiatrist
and medical anthropologist, describes those practices as he encountered
them in the late 1960s and early 1970s. During many months he studied
with leading practitioners. He describes the healers—their techniques,
personal histories and qualities, the problems addressed and results
obtained—and examines past as well as present practices. The result is
an engrossing account that may profoundly affect the way readers view
the dynamics of therapy for mind and body.

Tags:

Humans

Medicine, Chinese Traditional

Notes:

As a typical naturally derived drug,
traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has developed for several thousands
of years and accumulated abundant human pharmacological information and
experience to form an integrated theory system. However, the problems of
lower product quality, substandard codes and standards, and
under-enhancement of fundamental research have restricted its further
development and acceptance internationally. In this review, we explain
the origin and developmental history of TCM, species involved in TCM,
and their distributions in biotaxy. According to the status and
problems, it is concluded that TCM modernization has become necessary
and urgent. Modernization of TCM means the combination of TCM with
modern technology, modern academic thoughts, and modern scientific
culture, in which the most important point is to elucidate the active
component of TCM, especially the material foundation of compound
prescriptions and their pharmacodynamic mechanisms. Technology of
analytical chemistry (HPLC, HPCE, HSCCC, etc.) and molecular biology
(patch clamp, gene clamp, gene chip, fluorescent probe, DNA TUNEL assay,
in situ hybridization, etc.) are useful tools to realize the
modernization of TCM. Based on those studies and achievements and
coupled with computer technology, all TCM products will achieve
digitalization and normalization. TCM modernization will provide the
world with useful reference information on traditional medicines.

The Mixe of Oaxaca Religion, Ritual, and Healing

Type

Book

Author

Frank J Lipp

Author

American Council of Learned Societies

Edition

1st pbk. ed

Place

Austin

Publisher

University of Texas Press

Date

1998

ISBN

0292747055

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

F1221.M67

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Tags:

Medicine

MEXICO

Mixe Indians

Mixe mythology

Oaxaca (Mexico : State)

religion

Rites and ceremonies

Shamanism

Social life and customs

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

The Mixe of Oaxaca was the first extensive
ethnography of the Mixe, with a special focus on Mixe religious beliefs
and rituals and the curing practices associated with them. It records
the procedures, design-plan, corresponding prayers, and symbolic context
of well over one hundred rituals. Frank Lipp has written a new preface
for this edition, in which he comments on the relationship of Mixe
religion to current theoretical understandings of present-day Middle
American folk religions.

Tags:

Anthropological aspects

Iran

Medicine, Traditional

Public health

Social medicine

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Allopathy is often described as “western”
medicine, the antithesis of homeopathy. Allopathy Goes Native is an
ethnographic investigation of how allopathic knowledge, theories and
practice guidelines come to be understood and applied by native
practitioners in a non-western context. Based on research among
allopathic doctors in Iran, Loeffler describes how the system of
allopathic medicine has adapted to indigenous explanations of health and
disease and to the economic, social and religio-political realities
framing contemporary Iranian life and culture. This approach
simultaneously problematizes the view of allopathic medicine as a
“western” entity exerting a hegemonic influence over non-western
cultures and provides a rare glimpse of the complexities of life in
modern Iran denied most western scholars. It is an essential supplement
to the current anthropological literature on Iran.

Spiritism is the third most common religion in Brazil, and its
therapies have been used by millions worldwide. These therapies are
based on therapeutic resources including prayer, laying on of hands,
fluidotherapy (magnetized water), charity/volunteering, spirit
education/moral values, and disobsession (spirit release therapy). This
paper presents a systematic review of the current literature on the
relationship among health outcomes and 6 predictors: prayer, laying on
of hands, magnetized/fluidic water, charity/volunteering, spirit
education (virtuous life and positive affect), and spirit release
therapy. All articles were analyzed according to inclusion/exclusion
criteria, Newcastle-Ottawa and Jadad score. At present, there is
moderate to strong evidence that volunteering and positive affect are
linked to better health outcomes. Furthermore, laying on of hands,
virtuous life, and praying for oneself also seem to be associated to
positive findings. Nevertheless, there is a lack of studies on
magnetized water and spirit release therapy. In summary, science is
indirectly demonstrating that some of these therapies can be associated
to better health outcomes and that other therapies have been overlooked
or poorly investigated. Further studies in this field could contribute
to the disciplines of Complementary and Alternative Medicine by
investigating the relationship between body, mind, and soul/spirit.

Notes:

This monumental volume explores, explains,
and honors the healing practices of Native Americans throughout North
America, from the southwestern United States to the Arctic Circle.
Designed for ease of use with maps, a detailed subject index, an
extensive bibliography, and cross references, this book is sure to
fascinate anyone interested in Native American culture and heritage.

Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in
Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

Type

Journal Article

Author

Taiwo E Mafimisebi

Author

Adegboyega E Oguntade

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of
locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and
affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to
keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence
on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of
traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend.
The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is
on a wider plane vis-a-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has
culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices
observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health
management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these
practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox
medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of
traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and
magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund
research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can
be integrated into the national health system.

Publication

Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine

Volume

6

Issue

1

Pages

1

Date

Jan 20, 2010

Journal Abbr

J Ethnobiol Ethnomed

DOI

10.1186/1746-4269-6-1

ISSN

1746-4269

Short Title

Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria

Accessed

Saturday, January 23, 2010 11:55:32 AM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 20089149

Date Added

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Modified

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Notes:

Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown
food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of
orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to
be economically productive, have led to their dependence on
traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of
traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this
trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of
disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine
practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and
magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant
medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons
were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between
traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that
the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its
socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that
government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify
components of it that can be integrated into the national health
system.

African Philosophy, Culture, and Traditional Medicine

Type

Book

Author

M. Akin Makinde

Series

Monographs in international studies

Series Number

no.53

Place

Athens, Ohio

Publisher

Ohio University Center for International Studies

Date

1988

ISBN

0896801527

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

DT1

Date Added

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Tags:

Africa, Sub-Saharan

Civilization

Philosophy, African

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Murder, Magic, and Medicine

Type

Book

Author

J. Mann

Edition

Rev. ed

Place

New York

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

2000

ISBN

0198507445

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

RM300 .M1845 2000

Date Added

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Tags:

History

Medicine, Traditional

Pharmacology

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

Pocket text presents how many of our
modern medicines evolved from extracts that are poisonous, i.e. agents
of murder, magic, and medicine. Topics include: arrow poisons,
stimulants, antibacterial substances, and much more.

Illness of the mind or illness of the spirit? Mental health-related conceptualization and practices of older Iranian immigrants

Type

Journal Article

Author

Shadi Sahami Martin

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to
explore whether the way mental health is conceptualized by older Iranian
immigrants can influence their mental health-related practices.
In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 Iranians who had immigrated
to the United States after the age of 50. The findings from this study
revealed that the older Iranian immigrants were reluctant to seek mental
health care services in the United States.This resistance was largely
attributed to the cultural differences in mental health
conceptualization (language, definitions, and terminology) and lack of
trust in the effectiveness ofpsychotropic medications. The findings of
this study have implications for health and social service professionals
who provide services to older immigrants, refugees, and minority
populations whose mental health conceptualization may not be consistent
with the biomedical model.

Publication

Health & Social Work

Volume

34

Issue

2

Pages

117-126

Date

May 2009

Journal Abbr

Health Soc Work

ISSN

0360-7283

Short Title

Illness of the mind or illness of the spirit?

Accessed

Tuesday, February 22, 2011 7:11:20 PM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 19425341

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Aged

Aged, 80 and over

Cultural Characteristics

Female

Healthcare Disparities

Holistic Health

Humans

Interviews as Topic

Iran

Male

mental health

Middle Aged

Qualitative Research

spirituality

Transients and Migrants

The Role of Coca in the History, Religion, and Medicine of South American Indians

Tags:

Rationalization of indigenous male circumcision as a sacred religious custom: health beliefs of Xhosa men in South Africa

Type

Journal Article

Author

Thandisizwe Redford Mavundla

Author

Fulufelo Godfrey Netswera

Author

Brian Bottoman

Author

Ferenc Toth

Abstract

This article presents research findings based on the meaning of
indigenous circumcision to Xhosa men in South Africa. In South Africa,
male circumcision is a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood.
The country has experienced serious problems associated with the
practice of this rite ranging from dehydration to death in the
traditional "bush" circumcision schools. A qualitative, endogenous
research DESIGN: "How do you experience having a son who is undergoing
the circumcision rite?" The study revealed cultural circumcision as a
"sacred religious practice" with five themes, namely (a) readiness of
Xhosa families to engage in the circumcision ritual, (b) the act of
circumcision and preparation for manhood, (c) the importance of symbolic
purity during the circumcision ritual, (d) celebrating acquired
manhood, and (5) aspects of manhood and the rejection of clinical care.
Secondary to this are health promotion recommendations made for
individuals involved in this ritual.

Publication

Journal of Transcultural Nursing: Official Journal of the Transcultural Nursing Society

Volume

20

Issue

4

Pages

395-404

Date

Oct 2009

Journal Abbr

J Transcult Nurs

DOI

10.1177/1043659609340801

ISSN

1043-6596

Short Title

Rationalization of indigenous male circumcision as a sacred religious custom

Notes:

This article presents research findings based on the meaning of
indigenous circumcision to Xhosa men in South Africa. In South Africa,
male circumcision is a rite of passage from adolescence to adulthood.
The country has experienced serious problems associated with the
practice of this rite ranging from dehydration to death in the
traditional "bush" circumcision schools. A qualitative, endogenous
research DESIGN: "How do you experience having a son who is undergoing
the circumcision rite?" The study revealed cultural circumcision as a
"sacred religious practice" with five themes, namely (a) readiness of
Xhosa families to engage in the circumcision ritual, (b) the act of
circumcision and preparation for manhood, (c) the importance of symbolic
purity during the circumcision ritual, (d) celebrating acquired
manhood, and (5) aspects of manhood and the rejection of clinical care.
Secondary to this are health promotion recommendations made for
individuals involved in this ritual.

Shamanic Healing, Human Evolution, and the Origin of Religion

Type

Journal Article

Author

James McClenon

Abstract

It is likely that "Homo sapiens" practiced shamanic healing for many
millennia. Studies within anthropology, folklore, hypnosis, medical
history, psychoneuroimmunology, and religion support the argument that
suggestions embedded within shamanic rituals have therapeutic effects.
Shamanic/hypnotic suggestions may reduce pain, enhance healing, control
blood loss, facilitate childbirth, and alleviate psychological
disorders. Those more responsive to such suggestions are hypothesized to
have a survival advantage over the less susceptible. As a consequence,
shamanic rituals selected for genotypes associated with hypnotizability,
a trait correlated with frequency of anomalous and religious
experiences. With the evolution of psychophysiological structures
associated with hypnotizability, modern forms of religious sentiment
became possible.

Notes:

It is likely that “Homo sapiens” practiced
shamanic healing for many millennia. Studies within anthropology,
folklore, hypnosis, medical history, psychoneuroimmunology, and religion
support the argument that suggestions embedded within shamanic rituals
have therapeutic effects. Shamanic/hypnotic suggestions may reduce pain,
enhance healing, control blood loss, facilitate childbirth, and
alleviate psychological disorders. Those more responsive to such
suggestions are hypothesized to have a survival advantage over the less
susceptible. As a consequence, shamanic rituals selected for genotypes
associated with hypnotizability, a trait correlated with frequency of
anomalous and religious experiences. With the evolution of
psychophysiological structures associated with hypnotizability, modern
forms of religious sentiment became possible.

Ritual healing in suburban America

Type

Book

Author

Meredith McGuire

Place

New Brunswick

Publisher

Rutgers University Press

Date

1988

ISBN

9780813513126

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Latina/o Healing Practices: Mestizo and Indigenous Perspectives

Type

Book

Editor

Brian McNeill

Editor

Joseph Michael Cervantes

Place

New York

Publisher

Routledge

Date

2008

ISBN

9780415954204

Short Title

Latina/O Healing Practices

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR105.3 .L38 2008

Date Added

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Tags:

Hispanic Americans

Latin America

Latin Americans

Medicine

Medicine, Traditional

religion

Spiritual Therapies

spirituality

TRADITIONAL medicine

United States

Notes:

This edited volume focuses on the role of
traditional or indigenous healers, as well as the application of
traditional healing practices in contemporary counseling and therapeutic
modalities with Latina/o people. The book offers a broad coverage of
important topics, such as traditional healer’s views of
mental/psychological health and well-being, the use of traditional
healing techniques in contemporary psychotherapy, and herbal remedies in
psychiatric practice. It also discusses common factors across
traditional healing methods and contemporary psychotherapies, the
importance of spirituality in counseling and everyday life, the
application of indigenous healing practices with Latina/o
undergraduates, indigenous techniques in working with perpetrators of
domestic violence, and religious healing systems and biomedical models.
The book is an important reference for anyone working within the general
field of mental health practice and those seeking to understand
culturally relevant practice with Latina/o populations.

Perception of nursing care: views of Saudi Arabian female nurses

Type

Journal Article

Author

Jette Mebrouk

Abstract

'Values are principles and standards that have meaning and worth to
an individual, family, group, or community' (Purnell & Paulanka
1998: p.3). Values are central to the care provided by nurses. The
provision of nursing care within the context of value clarification, has
been explored from various perspectives, however, as values vary within
cultures, there is a limited range of studies reflecting on Saudi
Arabian nurses' perspectives of nursing care. Through a Heideggerian
phenomenological research design, six nurses were enrolled through
purposive sampling. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were
audio tape-recorded, were chosen as the methods of data collection. A
seven stage framework approach was applied to analyse and organise the
research findings in three conceptual themes: values in context of
Islam, the nurse-patient relationship, and identity's influence on being
in the world of nursing. The findings of the research indicate that
values in nursing and the perception of care are closely linked to the
Islamic values of the informants. However, one of the most challenging
aspects emerging from this study is related to these nurses' experiences
related to the public's negative perception of nursing as a profession
for Saudi Arabian women.

Tags:

Data Collection

Female

Humans

ISLAM

Male

Nurse-Patient Relations

Nurses

Nursing

SAUDI Arabia

Terminal Care

Notes:

Values are
principles and standards that have meaning and worth to an individual,
family, group, or community’ (Purnell & Paulanka 1998: p.3). Values
are central to the care provided by nurses. The provision of nursing
care within the context of value clarification, has been explored from
various perspectives, however, as values vary within cultures, there is a
limited range of studies reflecting on Saudi Arabian nurses’
perspectives of nursing care. Through a Heideggerian phenomenological
research design, six nurses were enrolled through purposive sampling.
Semi-structured, in-depth interviews, which were audio tape-recorded,
were chosen as the methods of data collection. A seven stage framework
approach was applied to analyse and organise the research findings in
three conceptual themes: values in context of Islam, the nurse-patient
relationship, and identity’s influence on being in the world of nursing.
The findings of the research indicate that values in nursing and the
perception of care are closely linked to the Islamic values of the
informants. However, one of the most challenging aspects emerging from
this study is related to these nurses’ experiences related to the
public’s negative perception of nursing as a profession for Saudi
Arabian women.

Homeopathy and the new fundamentalism: a critique of the critics

Type

Journal Article

Author

Lionel R Milgrom

Abstract

Though in use for over 200 years, and still benefiting millions of
people worldwide today, homeopathy is currently under continuous attacks
for being "unscientific." The reasons for this can be understood in
terms of what might be called a "New Fundamentalism," emanating
particularly but not exclusively from within biomedicine, and supported
in some sections of the media. Possible reasons for this are discussed.
New Fundamentalism's hallmarks include the denial of evidence for the
efficacy of any therapeutic modality that cannot be consistently
"proven" using double-blind, randomized controlled trials. It excludes
explanations of homeopathy's efficacy; ignores, excoriates, or considers
current research data supporting those explanations incomprehensible,
particularly from outside biomedicine: it is also not averse to using
experimental bias, hearsay, and innuendo in order to discredit
homeopathy. Thus, New Fundamentalism is itself unscientific. This may
have consequences in the future for how practitioners, researchers, and
patients of homeopathy/complementary and alternative medicine engage and
negotiate with primary health care systems.

Notes:

Though in use for over 200 years, and
still benefiting millions of people worldwide today, homeopathy is
currently under continuous attacks for being “unscientific.” The reasons
for this can be understood in terms of what might be called a “New
Fundamentalism,” emanating particularly but not exclusively from within
biomedicine, and supported in some sections of the media. Possible
reasons for this are discussed. New Fundamentalism’s hallmarks include
the denial of evidence for the efficacy of any therapeutic modality that
cannot be consistently “proven” using double-blind, randomized
controlled trials. It excludes explanations of homeopathy’s efficacy;
ignores, excoriates, or considers current research data supporting those
explanations incomprehensible, particularly from outside biomedicine:
it is also not averse to using experimental bias, hearsay, and innuendo
in order to discredit homeopathy. Thus, New Fundamentalism is itself
unscientific. This may have consequences in the future for how
practitioners, researchers, and patients of homeopathy/complementary and
alternative medicine engage and negotiate with primary health care
systems.

Traditional Medicine in East Africa: The Search for a Synthesis

Type

Book

Author

Norman N Miller

Place

Hanover, N.H

Publisher

American Universities Field Staff

Date

1980

Short Title

Traditional Medicine in East Africa

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

JA1.A1

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Africa

TRADITIONAL medicine

Fundamentals of Yoga: A Handbook of Theory, Practice, and Application

Type

Book

Author

Rammurti S Mishra

Edition

1987 ed

Place

New York, N.Y

Publisher

Harmony Books

Date

1987

ISBN

051756422X

Short Title

Fundamentals of Yoga

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

B132.Y6 M5 1987

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

yoga

Notes:

Dr. Mishra brings a medical reasoning and a
guru’s practice to the ancient science of yoga. Concentration and
meditation exercises make this an invaluable introduction to yoga.

Ayurveda: a historical perspective and principles of the traditional healthcare system in India

Tags:

History, Ancient

Humans

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Notes:

Ayurveda, the science of life, is a
comprehensive medical system that has been the traditional system of
healthcare in India for more than 5000 years. This medical system was
well established around 2500 to 600 BC, when it evolved into 2 schools:
the School of Physicians and the School of Surgeons, similar to
allopathy. Charak Samhita, Susrut Samhita, and Ashtang Hridaya Samhita
are the Senior Triad texts, and Madhav Nidan Samhita, Sarangdhar
Samhita, and Bhavprakash Samhita are the Junior Triad texts. Around 600
BC. Ayurveda was branched into internal medicine; pediatrics;
psychiatry; surgery; eye, ear, nose, and throat; toxicology; geriatrics;
and eugenics/aphrodisiacs. The body is composed of 3 body doshas, 3
mental doshas, 7 dhatus, and malas. The harmony among the body doshas of
vata (nervous system), pitta (enzymes), and kapha (mucus) and the
gunas, or mental doshas (which are human attributes: satogun [godly],
rajas [kingly], and tamas [evil]), constitutes health, and their
disharmony constitutes disease. The management of illness requires
balancing the doshas back into a harmonious state through lifestyle
interventions, spiritual nurturing, and treatment with herbo-mineral
formulas based on one’s mental and bodily constitution.

Facial expressions are significant to decipher information during a
dialogue and more so in a clinical consultation. Veils (Niqab) worn by
Muslim women may pose a clinical dilemma for the psychiatric assessment
especially if clinicians are not aware of their religious significance.
To investigate whether clinical judgment is affected if full facial
expressions are not accessible, we conducted an email survey of
psychiatrists and psychologists across the world who frequently work in
these situations. Of 25 colleagues contacted 16 responded and 11 of them
agreed for their comments to be included in the study. Nine out of 11
believed clinical assessment may be compromised, although respondents
were aware of cultural sensitivity around the issue. Two out of 11
however, felt fully able to assess the mental state of a veiled woman.
Some professionals reported that they feel unable to assess or treat if
the request to take the veil off is declined. This small survey
demonstrates the diverse opinions on whether unveiling is necessary for
psychiatric assessment. Further qualitative examination of this area is
needed to develop wider consensus and guidance to mental health care
professionals who may be dealing with these groups.

Tags:

History, Ancient

Humans

Iran

Male

Measles

Philosophy, Medical

Smallpox

Notes:

The resurgence of Islamic Civilization in
the Near East in the 7th century AD and its expansion to Persian Empire
and Westward provided opportunities of access Persian, Hellenic, and
Roman writings in philosophy and medicine. Based on their observations
and experiences, Islamic physician-philosophers expanded upon those
writings and at times challenged them. Among these
physician-philosophers admiring and challenging Galen was Zakariya Razi
described as the greatest physician of Islam and Medieval Ages. A search
of electronic and written materials about early Islamic Medicine was
carried out focusing on Persian physician-philosophers Zakariya Razi.
Abu Bakr Mohammad Ibn Zakariya al-Razi, known in the West as Rhazes, was
born in 865 AD in the ancient city of Rey, Near Tehran. A musician
during his youth he became an alchemist. He discovered alcohol and
sulfuric acid. He classified substances as plants, organic, and
inorganic. At age 30, he undertook the study of medicine. He was a
prolific writer with more than 184 texts in medicine attributed to him
with 40 of them currently available. Among them are Kitab al-Mansoori,
Kitab al-Hawi, and Kitab al -Judari wa al-Hasabah. The latter is the
first scientific description for the recognition and differentiation of
smallpox and measles. The Bulletin of the World Health Organization of
May 1970 pays tribute to Razi by stating “His writings on smallpox and
measles show originality and accuracy, and his essay on infectious
diseases was the first scientific treatise on the subject”. Razi
established qualifications and ethical standards for the practice of
medicine. Zakariya Razi was not only one of the most important Persian
physician-philosophers of his era, but for centuries his writings became
fundamental teaching texts in European medical schools. Some important
aspects of his contributions to medicine are reviewed.

Mental health and psychiatry in the Middle East: historical development

Notes:

A brief account is given of attitudes
towards mental health and the development of psychiatry in the Middle
East from an historical perspective. The Middle East is considered as a
cultural entity and the influence of the beliefs and practices of
ancient times on the collective mind of the people of the Region is
discussed.

Inspiration and Expiration: Yoga Practice through Merleau-Ponty's Phenomenology of the Body

Notes:

An interpretation of the yoga practice of
pranayama (breath control) that is influenced by the existential
phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty is offered. The approach to yoga is less
concerned with comparing his thought to the classical yoga texts than
with elucidating the actual experience of breath control through the
constructs provided by Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy of the lived body. The
discussion of yoga can answer certain pedagogical goals but can never
finally be severed from doing yoga. Academic discourse centered entirely
on the theoretical concepts of yoga philosophies must to some extent
remain incomplete. Patañjali’s “Yoga Sutra” is itself a manual of
practice. For this reason, the commentary of the scholar-practitioner T.
K. V. Desikachar has been chosen as the basis for this study, rather
than a more exclusively theoretical commentary. In so doing, yoga will
be approached as an experience or phenomenon, not just in the context of
a series of academic debates.

How to Speak Postmodern: Medicine, Illness, and Cultural Change

Type

Journal Article

Author

David B. Morris

Abstract

The modernist “biomedical model” offers an inadequate understanding
of illness. At the same time, some of the conceptual constructs that are
offered to supplement the biomedical model are carelessly employed.
Much that is said and written about empathy and healing, in particular,
fails to reflect the historical and critical self-awareness of
postmodern thinking at its best.

Notes:

The modernist “biomedical model” offers an
inadequate understanding of illness. At the same time, some of the
conceptual constructs that are offered to supplement the biomedical
model are carelessly employed. Much that is said and written about
empathy and healing, in particular, fails to reflect the historical and
critical self-awareness of postmodern thinking at its best.

Tags:

History, Ancient

History, Early Modern 1451-1600

History, Medieval

History, Modern 1601-

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Religion and Medicine

Notes:

The original conception of Ayurveda in its entirety is essentially
linked to Dhanwantari who is considered as God of Hindu Medicine.
Dhanwantari is considered a mythical deity born with ambrosia in one
hand and Ayurveda on the other at the end of the churning of milk ocean.
He reincarnated himself in the Chandra dynasty. He was born to King
Dhanwa, learnt Ayurveda from Bharadwaja. His great grandson Divodasa was
also known as Dhanwantari, but was specialised only in surgical branch
of Ayurveda. Sushruta, is said to have learnt the art of science of
surgery from Divodasa Dhanwantara.

Tags:

Attitude to Health

Holistic Health

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Religion and Medicine

South Africa

Notes:

In the Hindu tradition, ‘health’ means the
continued maintenance of the best possible working of the human body
under normal, and sometimes even abnormal, environmental conditions.
Hindu religious teaching on healthy living and ethical considerations
culminate in spiritual objectives if the injunctions contained in the
system are followed. Hatha yoga is a system of bodily care that is
conducive to such health, which also corrects disease via the regulation
of muscular action and in other ways. Other systems of medicine, such
as Ayurveda and other traditional systems in Hindu culture, have been
devised for the good of humanity. It is, however, the holistic approach
to health in Hinduism that calls attention to such causes of ill health
as climatic extremes, bacterial attack, nutritional deviance, stress,
and other forms of emotional imbalance. A state of good health is within
the reach of most persons if they cultivate habits that are conducive
to physical and spiritual well-being. The concept of preventive medicine
is probably also based on the tenet that the attainment of good health
is a religious duty, and corresponding injunctions are found in
abundance in Hindu scriptures. It is not the training of students in the
medical profession that is most important for health care, but rather
their concern for health and their willingness to apply themselves to
the observation of the rules they would wish their patients to observe.

Medical science in ancient Indian culture with special reference to Atharvaveda

Tags:

History, Ancient

India

Medicine

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Science

Notes:

A high quality of Medical Knowledge was
prevalent in ancient India. The present day Archaeological evidences of
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa imparts the high civilization in matters of
sanitation and hygiene. An analysis of the material in the Vedas reveals
that, all the four Vedas replete the references regarding various
aspects of medicine. The Atharva Veda is deemed to be an encyclopaedia
for medicine “Interalia”, and Ayurveda (the science of life) is
considered as Upa Veda (supplementary subject) of the Atharva Veda. A
few glimpses of medical Science as prevalent in the ancient India have
been presented here.

Tags:

Buddhism

History, Ancient

Humans

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Religion and Medicine

Notes:

The Pali canon consists of three Pitakas
(baskets), which replete the Buddhism and is known as Tripitaka, viz,
Vinaya, Sutta and Abhidhamma Pitakas. The original phase of Tripitaka
(Buddhisim started in 544 B.C. and lastly systematized up to 29 B.C. The
Buddhist literature also possesses the esoteric material of Medical
Science, which is practiced and conserved in India since centuries. It
refers to the fundamentals of medicine, rules of good living, which lay
considerable emphasis on the hygiene of body, mind. Internal Medicine,
curative medicine including symptoms, methods of diagnosis, theories of
causation, materia-medica, therapeutics and treatment and skills of
Jivaka. Some famous and popular prescriptions are also dealt with.

Tags:

Drug Compounding

Formularies as Topic

History, Medieval

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Plant Preparations

Notes:

Safety and efficacy of a drug mainly
depends on the method of preparation. To assess the quality of a
finished product, there should be some basic standards as well as
methods of preparation. There are several parameters for testing the
quality of a chemical drug, which have, are true indicators. So, there
is no problem in assessing a synthetic drug’s quality. As far as the
preparation used in Ayurvedic system of medicine, a drug formulation or
design may not be a problem, because many formulations are well
documented in classical texts. But, there is confusion with respect to
standards to be followed while preparing a formulation as well as basic
parameters to assess the quality of the finished product. In Ayurveda,
pañcavidhakasayakalpana are the basic pharmaceutical preparations, from
which all the other preparations are developed. A specific method for
each and every preparation and some basic standards of finished products
are mentioned in Ayurvedic texts to maintain their quality. This
information may some times vary from text to text. To overcome this
problem Sarangdhara mentioned detailed information about various
formulations with respect to their methods of preparation as well as
basic standards and are documented in Sarangdhara Samhita.

The Development of Modern Yoga: A Survey of the Field

Type

Journal Article

Author

Suzanne Newcombe

Abstract

Yoga is now found in urban centres and rural retreats across the
world as well as in its historical home in the Indian subcontinent. What
is now practiced as yoga across the globe has a long history of
transnational intercultural exchange and has been considered by some as
an outgrowth of Neo-Hinduism. Although the popularisation of yoga is
often cited in theories about 'Easternization' or the 're-enchantment'
of the West since the late 20th century, most of these theories make
little reference to the growing number of historical, sociological and
anthropological studies of modern yoga. This article will consider how
the apparent dichotomy between yoga as a physical fitness activity
(often termed 'hatha yoga') and/or as a 'spiritual practice' developed
historically and discuss recent trends in the research.

Tags:

Arab World

Cultural Characteristics

Egypt

History, 20th Century

History, 21st Century

History, Ancient

History, Medieval

Humans

ISLAM

Medicine, Arabic

mental health

Mental Health Services

Psychiatry

Notes:

This paper provides an historical look at
the Egyptian contribution to mental health from Pharaonic times through
to the Islamic era and up to today. The current situation as regards
mental health in Egypt is described.

Native North American Shamanism: An Annotated Bibliography

Type

Book

Author

Shelley Anne Osterreich

Series

Bibliographies and indexes in American history

Series Number

no. 38

Place

Westport, Conn

Publisher

Greenwood Press

Date

1998

ISBN

0313301689

Short Title

Native North American Shamanism

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

Z1209.2.N67 O77 1998

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Bibliography

Indians of North America

Medicine

North America

religion

Rites and ceremonies

Shamanism

The perceived role of Islam in immigrant Muslim medical practice within the USA: an exploratory qualitative study

Type

Journal Article

Author

A I Padela

Author

H Shanawani

Author

J Greenlaw

Author

H Hamid

Author

M Aktas

Author

N Chin

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Islam and Muslims are underrepresented in the medical
literature and the influence of physician's cultural beliefs and
religious values upon the clinical encounter has been understudied.
OBJECTIVE: To elicit the perceived influence of Islam upon the practice
patterns of immigrant Muslim physicians in the USA. DESIGN: Ten
face-to-face, in-depth, semistructured interviews with Muslim physicians
from various backgrounds and specialties trained outside the USA and
practising within the the country. Data were analysed according to the
conventions of qualitative research using a modified grounded-theory
approach. RESULTS: There were a variety of views on the role of Islam in
medical practice. Several themes emerged from our interviews: (1) a
trend to view Islam as enhancing virtuous professional behaviour; (2)
the perception of Islam as influencing the scope of medical practice
through setting boundaries on career choices, defining acceptable
medical procedures and shaping social interactions with physician peers;
(3) a perceived need for Islamic religious experts within Islamic
medical ethical deliberation. Limitations: This is a pilot study
intended to yield themes and hypotheses for further investigation and is
not meant to fully characterise Muslim physicians at large.
CONCLUSIONS: Immigrant Muslim physicians practising within the USA
perceive Islam to play a variable role within their clinical practice,
from influencing interpersonal relations and character development to
affecting specialty choice and procedures performed. Areas of ethical
challenges identified include catering to populations with lifestyles at
odds with Islamic teachings, end-of-life care and maintaining a faith
identity within the culture of medicine. Further study of the interplay
between Islam and Muslim medical practice and the manner and degree to
which Islamic values and law inform ethical decision-making is needed.

Publication

Journal of Medical Ethics

Volume

34

Issue

5

Pages

365-369

Date

May 2008

Journal Abbr

J Med Ethics

DOI

10.1136/jme.2007.021345

ISSN

1473-4257

Short Title

The perceived role of Islam in immigrant Muslim medical practice within the USA

Tags:

Adult

Cultural Characteristics

Emigrants and Immigrants

Female

Humans

ISLAM

Male

Middle Aged

Physicians

Pilot Projects

Professional Practice

Qualitative Research

Religion and Medicine

United States

Notes:

Background: Islam and Muslims are
underrepresented in the medical literature and the influence of
physician’s cultural beliefs and religious values upon the clinical
encounter has been understudied. Objective: To elicit the perceived
influence of Islam upon the practice patterns of immigrant Muslim
physicians in the USA. Design: Ten face-to-face, in-depth,
semistructured interviews with Muslim physicians from various
backgrounds and specialties trained outside the USA and practising
within the the country. Data were analysed according to the conventions
of qualitative research using a modified grounded-theory approach.
Results: There were a variety of views on the role of Islam in medical
practice. Several themes emerged from our interviews: (1) a trend to
view Islam as enhancing virtuous professional behaviour; (2) the
perception of Islam as influencing the scope of medical practice through
setting boundaries on career choices, defining acceptable medical
procedures and shaping social interactions with physician peers; (3) a
perceived need for Islamic religious experts within Islamic medical
ethical deliberation. Limitations: This is a pilot study intended to
yield themes and hypotheses for further investigation and is not meant
to fully characterise Muslim physicians at large. Conclusions: Immigrant
Muslim physicians practising within the USA perceive Islam to play a
variable role within their clinical practice, from influencing
interpersonal relations and character development to affecting specialty
choice and procedures performed. Areas of ethical challenges identified
include catering to populations with lifestyles at odds with Islamic
teachings, end-of-life care and maintaining a faith identity within the
culture of medicine. Further study of the interplay between Islam and
Muslim medical practice and the manner and degree to which Islamic
values and law inform ethical decision-making is needed.

Consensus of local knowledge on medicinal plants among traditional
healers in Mayiladumparai block of Theni District, Tamil Nadu, India

Type

Journal Article

Author

P Pandikumar

Author

M Chellappandian

Author

S Mutheeswaran

Author

S Ignacimuthu

Abstract

AIM OF THE STUDY The role of ethnobotany in drug discovery is huge
but there are criticisms over such studies due to their qualitative
nature. The present study is aimed at quantitatively abstracting the
medicinal plant knowledge of the healers trained in traditional ways, in
Mayiladumparai block of Theni District, Tamil Nadu, India. MATERIALS
AND METHODS The interviews and field observations were carried out in
all the 18 village panchayaths from January to June 2010, consisting of
148 field days. The interviews were conducted with 80 traditional
healers, after obtaining prior informed consent. Successive free listing
was used to interview the informants. The informant consensus factor
(F(ic)) was calculated to estimate the use variability of medicinal
plants. Fidelity index and Cultural importance index were also
calculated to analyze the data. RESULTS This study recorded the
ethno-medicinal usage of 142 ethno-species belonging to 62 families that
were used to prepare 504 formulations. Jaundice had the highest F(ic)
value than all the illness categories studied. Phyllanthus spp. was the
highly cited medicinal plant to treat jaundice and had high fidelity
index value. This was followed by Senna angustifolia and Terminalia
chebula as laxatives. The highly cited medicinal plants in each group
with high F(ic) value were Pongamia pinnata (antiseptic), Aerva lanata
(antidote and snakebite), Blepharis maderaspatensis (cuts and wounds),
Abutilon indicum (hemorrhoids), Ruta graveolens (spiritual medicine),
Ocimum tenuiflorum (cough), and Solanum trilobatum (pulmonary ailments).
Phyllanthus spp., was the most culturally significant species according
to this index, followed by Borassus flebellifer. CONCLUSION The process
of drug discovery has become highly expensive and post-approval and
post-marketing withdrawal of drugs is continuing. In such scenario,
reverse pharmacology is considered an attractive option. The medicinal
plants enumerated in this study with high number of citations and high
F(ic) values for illness categories might give some useful leads for
further biomedical research.

Notes:

Ayurveda, the traditional Indian medicine
(TIM) and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) remain the most ancient yet
living traditions. There has been increased global interest in
traditional medicine. Efforts to monitor and regulate herbal drugs and
traditional medicine are underway. China has been successful in
promoting its therapies with more research and science-based approach,
while Ayurveda still needs more extensive scientific research and
evidence base. This review gives an overview of basic principles and
commonalities of TIM and TCM and discusses key determinants of success,
which these great traditions need to address to compete in global
markets.

The Ayurveda Education in India: How Well are the Graduates Exposed to Basic Clinical Skills?

Notes:

Ayurveda’ is an
ancient system of healthcare that is native to India. At present, in
India, there are more than 240 colleges that offer a graduate-level
degree (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery-BAMS) in Ayurveda.
Even though the Central Council of Indian Medicine, the governing body
that monitors the matters related to Ayurveda education, has imposed
various educational norms and regulations, the standard of education has
been a cause of concern in recent years. The mushrooming of substandard
Ayurvedic colleges is the most important factor that is being held
responsible for this kind of erosion in the standards. The present study
is a mailed survey, which was carried out to evaluate the ‘Extent of
exposure to basic clinical skills during BAMS course’ as perceived by
the sample groups of students and teachers drawn from 32 Ayurvedic
educational institutions spread all over India. A methodically validated
questionnaire was used as the tool in the study, to which 1022
participants responded. The study indicates that there are some serious
flaws in the existing system of the graduate-level Ayurveda education.
Since the Ayurvedic graduates play an important role in the primary
healthcare delivery system of the country, governing bodies are required
to take necessary steps to ensure the adequate exposure of the students
to basic clinical skills. Along with the strict implementation of all
the regulatory norms during the process of recognition of the colleges,
introducing some changes in the policy model may also be required to
tackle the situation.

Jamaican Folk Medicine: A Source of Healing

Type

Book

Author

Arvilla Payne-Jackson

Author

Mervyn C Alleyne

Place

Kingston, Jamaica

Publisher

University of the West Indies Press

Date

2004

ISBN

9766401233

Short Title

Jamaican Folk Medicine

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR121.J2 P39 2004

Date Added

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Tags:

Africa

African Continental Ancestry Group

Cultural Diversity

Health and hygiene

Jamaica

Jamaicans

Medicine, Traditional

Plants, Medicinal

Social conditions

Socioeconomic Factors

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

This pioneering work is multi-disciplinary
in approach as it examines the rich folk medicine of Jamaican. The
authors analyse the historical and linguistic aspects of folk medicine,
based on their research, extensive fieldwork and interviews. They
explore the sociological and ethnological dimensions of common healing
practices and Jamaica’s biodiversity, in both flora and in fauna. As is
the case with other aspects of Jamaican traditional culture, Jamaican
folk medicine is largely misunderstood and subject to negative
pejorative attitudes. This comprehensive study challenges some of the
myths and misinformation. Particular attention is paid to cultural
transference from Africa and the use of herbals in African-Jamaican
religions. The comprehensive book is of academic value to teachers,
students and researchers, and can also aid practitioners and policy
makers in the field of health and healing.

Christian Healing: A Practical and Comprehensive Guide

Type

Book

Author

Mark A Pearson

Edition

2nd ed

Place

Grand Rapids, Mich

Publisher

Chosen Books

Date

1995

ISBN

0800792211

Short Title

Christian Healing

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BT732.5 .P415 1995

Date Added

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Tags:

Health

Religious aspects

Spiritual healing

Health and Medicine in the Christian Science Tradition: Principle, Practice, and Challenge

Type

Book

Author

Robert Peel

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1988

ISBN

0824508955

Short Title

Health and Medicine in the Christian Science Tradition

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX6950

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Christian Science

Doctrines

Health

Medicine

Religious aspects

Trance, Initiation, and Psychotherapy in Tamang Shamanism

Type

Journal Article

Author

Larry G. Peters

Abstract

The "calling" that inflicts the neophyte Tamang shaman is a
"creative illness" reflecting an endogenous process that has the
structure and function of a rite of passage. Shamanic apprenticeship
includes the deliberate induction and mastery of trance states that
originally afflicted the shaman. Mastery is equivalent to a
psychotherapy, and Tamang initiation involves techniques that are also
found in its Western and Eastern (yoga) counterparts. However, it is
distinct from both in its social and psychological goals. [shamanism,
altered states of consciousness, psychotherapy, religious experience,
symbolism]

Notes:

The “calling” that inflicts the neophyte
Tamang shaman is a “creative illness” reflecting an endogenous process
that has the structure and function of a rite of passage. Shamanic
apprenticeship includes the deliberate induction and mastery of trance
states that originally afflicted the shaman. Mastery is equivalent to a
psychotherapy, and Tamang initiation involves techniques that are also
found in its Western and Eastern (yoga) counterparts. However, it is
distinct from both in its social and psychological goals. [shamanism,
altered states of consciousness, psychotherapy, religious experience,
symbolism]

Yoga, karma, and rebirth : a brief history and philosophy

Type

Book

Author

Stephen Phillips

Place

New York

Publisher

Columbia University Press

Date

2009

ISBN

9780231144841

Short Title

Yoga, karma, and rebirth

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Modified

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A Comparison of Christian Science and Mainline Christian Healing Ideologies and Practices

Type

Journal Article

Author

Margaret M. Poloma

Abstract

Within the past decade there has been an increasing interest shown
in the practice of spiritual healing. Evidence suggests that a sizeable
minority of Americans not only believe in spiritual healing but also
that they have personally experienced such a healing. This article
empirically explores the differences in ideology and practices of a
group of Christian Scientists and another of Mainstream Christians who
have experienced a physical healing as a result of prayer. It concludes
with a discussion of the future of the two very different streams of the
religious healing movement.

Notes:

Within the past decade there has been an
increasing interest shown in the practice of spiritual healing. Evidence
suggests that a sizable minority of Americans not only believe in
spiritual healing but also that they have personally experienced such a
healing. This article empirically explores the differences in ideology
and practices of a group of Christian Scientists and another of
Mainstream Christians who have experienced a physical healing as a
result of prayer. It concludes with a discussion of the future of the
two very different streams of the religious healing movement.

Tags:

History

History, Medieval

ISLAM

Medicine

Medicine, Arab

Medicine, Arabic

Medicine, Medieval

Religious aspects

Notes:

The medical tradition that developed in
the lands of Islam during the medieval period (c. 650-1500) has, like
few others, influenced the fates and fortunes of countless human beings.
It is the story of contact and cultural exchange across countries and
creeds, affecting caliphs, kings, courtiers, courtesans, and the common
crowd. This tradition formed the roots from which modern Western
medicine arose. Contrary to the stereotypical picture, medieval Islamic
medicine was not simply a conduit for Greek ideas, but a venue for
innovation and change. The book is organized around five topics: the
emergence of medieval Islamic medicine and its intense cross-pollination
with other cultures; the theoretical medical framework; the function of
physicians within the larger society; medical care as seen through
preserved case histories; and the role of magic and devout religious
invocations in scholarly as well as everyday medicine. A concluding
chapter on the “afterlife” concerns the impact of this tradition on
modern European medical practices, and its continued practice today. The
book includes an index of persons and their books; a timeline of
developments in East and West; and a chapter-by-chapter annotated
bibliographic essay.

Tai chi and meditation: A conceptual (re)synthesis?

Type

Journal Article

Author

Paul Posadzki

Author

Samantha Jacques

Abstract

The aim of this article is to review the literature on Tai Chi and
meditation. A coherent construct is developed that includes a
comparative analysis and conceptual synthesis of existing theories. The
authors discuss a set of assumptions that justify this synthesis; they
also argue that this construct would facilitate greater understanding of
Tai Chi from the perspective of meditation. Such synthesis may bring
"additional" benefits to Tai Chi practitioners as they could recognize
that this mind-body technique holds the essence of meditation. Within
the scope of this article, the evidence shows a majority of common
features when concerning Tai Chi and meditation. These mutual
similarities should be taken into account when performing this type of
mind-body medicine by patients and/or therapists. Finally, the authors
suggest that this inspiring compilation of movements and mindfulness can
be used for practical purposes.

Publication

Journal of Holistic Nursing: Official Journal of the American Holistic Nurses' Association

This paper qualitatively reviews two complementary therapies; Qi
Gong and educational kinesiology (EK). It is being suggested that Qi
Gong and EK may be united through a qualitative convergence and a shared
underlying concept. The authors hypothesize that a coherent rationale
can be formed through this conceptual synthesis and propose that to some
extent Qi Gong movements and EK can be considered to work in unison
with each other. The logical synthesis of these two therapies is being
presented to identify Qi Gong movements with concepts of brain
gymnastics and also to explain how this new construct can be developed
and implemented into practice. When verified, this hypothesis will allow
individuals to better understand Chinese health exercises from the
modern science perspective such as neuroanatomy, neurophysiology and
psychoneuroimmunology.

Publication

Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies

Volume

14

Issue

1

Pages

73-79

Date

Jan 2010

Journal Abbr

J Bodyw Mov Ther

DOI

10.1016/j.jbmt.2008.11.002

ISSN

1532-9283

Short Title

Qi Gong's relationship to educational kinesiology

Accessed

Friday, January 29, 2010 11:52:46 AM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 20006292

Date Added

Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:35 AM

Modified

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Ayurvedic medicine in neurology

Type

Journal Article

Author

S. Prabhakar

Author

J.S. Chopra

Abstract

Ayurvedic medicine in neurology
S. Prabhakar, J.S. Chopra. Department of Neurology, Postgraduate
Inst. of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh, India
Ayurveda is a system of traditional medicine native to India and
is considered a form of complementary alternative medicine in
West. Ayurveda focuses on exercise, yoga, meditation, massage
in addition to medication. There is comprehensive treatment of
neurological disorders in Ayurveda. Details will be discussed. Few
of the commonly used Ayurvedic medicines are described. Brahmi
(Bacopa monnieri) is creeping herb commonly found throughout
India. Its constituents include Alkaloids resembling strychnine in
therapeutic action but less toxic. Bacopa extract contains Bacosideand B known since 5000 BC. It is used in Neurology as nerve
tonic, for treatment of insanity and epilepsy. It has been mentioned
to improve process of learning, restoring memory, enhancing power
of speech and imagination. Bacopa was documented to exert antiamnesic
effect on diazepam induced anterograde amnesia in mice
by the author. Brahmi has anti-oxidant effect, improving activities
of defense enzymes. It has anti-stress activity in rat. Bacopa
protects against electric shock seizures and chemoconvulsion. Tulsi
(Occimum sanctum) called Holy Basil in West is known for its
religious / spiritual sanctity. Included in Rigveda – 5000 BC.
It is known to protect and reduce stress, enhance stamina,
boost immune system and lessen aging factor. It has antibiotic,
antioxidant and antiepileptic properties. Guggulipid (Commiphora
mukul) is used in stroke to treat hyperlipidaemia. It reduces
cholesterol production in liver. Sarapgandha (Rauwolfia sarpantina),
Dashmool and Ashwagandha are also used in management of
stroke. Ashwagandha is also used in Epilepsy. Mucuna pruriens
and Vicia fava beans (English dwarf beans) have long been used in
Parkinson’s disease, as natural source of L-dopa

Notes:

This essay discusses the ethics of
traditional Chinese medicine. After a brief remark on the history of
traditional Chinese medical ethics, the author outlines the Confucian
ethics which formed the cultural context in which traditional Chinese
medicine was evolving and constituted the core of its ethics. Then he
argued that how Chinese physicians applied the principles of Confucian
ethics in medicine and prescribed the attitude a physician should take
to himself, to patients and to his colleagues. In the last part of the
essay he discusses the characteristics of traditional Chinese medical
ethics.

Islam and end-of-life organ donation. Asking the right questions

Type

Journal Article

Author

Mohamed Y Rady

Author

Joseph L Verheijde

Abstract

Organ transplantation has become an established treatment option for
end-stage organ disease. Both living and end-of-life (so called
deceased) organ donation narrow the gap between supply and demand for
transplantable organs. Advances in human biology prove that death occurs
as a gradual process over time and not as a single discrete event.
Declaring death with either neurological criteria (heart-beating organ
donation) or circulatory criteria (non-heart-beating organ donation)
enables the procurement of transplantable organs before human death is
complete, namely, from the incipiently dying donor. Thus, surgical
procurement of organs from the incipiently dying donor is the proximate
cause of death, raising new questions on end-of-life organ donation. It
is imperative to first and foremost care for the patient as a dying
person. International Muslim scholars should reevaluate previous Islamic
rulings and provide guidance about current practice of end-of-life
organ donation.

Tags:

Death

Humans

ISLAM

Religion and Medicine

Tissue and Organ Procurement

Notes:

Organ transplantation has become an
established treatment option for end-stage organ disease. Both living
and end-of-life (so called deceased) organ donation narrow the gap
between supply and demand for transplantable organs. Advances in human
biology prove that death occurs as a gradual process over time and not
as a single discrete event. Declaring death with either neurological
criteria (heart-beating organ donation) or circulatory criteria
(non-heart-beating organ donation) enables the procurement of
transplantable organs before human death is complete, namely, from the
incipiently dying donor. Thus, surgical procurement of organs from the
incipiently dying donor is the proximate cause of death, raising new
questions on end-of-life organ donation. It is imperative to first and
foremost care for the patient as a dying person. International Muslim
scholars should reevaluate previous Islamic rulings and provide guidance
about current practice of end-of-life organ donation.

Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition: Change And Identity

Type

Book

Author

Fazlur Rahman

Series

Health/medicine and the faith traditions

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1987

ISBN

0824507975

Short Title

Health and Medicine in the Islamic Tradition

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BP166.72

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Health

Medicine

Religious aspects

Notes:

This is a pioneering attempt to portray
the relationship of Islam as a system of faith and as a tradition to
human health and health care. The author explores Wellness and Illness
in the Islamic World view, the Religious Valuation of Medicine, The
Prophetic Medicine, Medical Care, Medical Ethics and Passages.

Tags:

Comprehensive Health Care

Humans

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Models, Organizational

Shamanism: The Key to Religion

Type

Journal Article

Author

David Riches

Abstract

The article lays out in schematic fashion a composite of
socio-intellectual processes, arguabley evident in respect of all
cosmologies, which might appropriately be labelled 'religous'. It does
so by applying deductive reasoning to shamanism, the prevalent religion
in societies whose social structures are ssimple and in whose
cosmologies religious process is conspicuous; here the Canadian Inuit
(Eskimo) provide the ethnographic focus. The article assumes that
religious process finds its basis in fundamental contradictions
concerning the conditions of social existence, namely in the antithesis
between social structure and communitas. Cosmology is generated as this
contradiction is contemplated by, respectively, laypeople and
specialist, both with their own interests in view. The argument also
considers such central cultural and analytical isues as the existence of
distinctive notions of the human person, and the pertinence for the
study of religion of, variously, 'secondary elaborations', systems of
classification, and religious edicts; and it joins with Barth in
emphasizing the salience of the specialist in 'cosmology-making'.

Notes:

The article lays out in schematic fashion a
composite of socio-intellectual processes, arguable evident in respect
of all cosmologies, which might appropriately be labeled ‘religious’. It
does so by applying deductive reasoning to shamanism, the prevalent
religion in societies whose social structures are simple and in whose
cosmologies religious process is conspicuous; here the Canadian Inuit
(Eskimo) provide the ethnographic focus. The article assumes that
religious process finds its basis in fundamental contradictions
concerning the conditions of social existence, namely in the antithesis
between social structure and communitas. Cosmology is generated as this
contradiction is contemplated by, respectively, laypeople and
specialists, both with their own interests in view. The argument also
considers such central cultural and analytical issues as the existence
of distinctive notions of the human person, and the pertinence for the
study of religion of, variously, ‘secondary elaborations’, systems of
classification, and religious edicts; and it joins with Barth in
emphasizing the salience of the specialist in ‘cosmology-making’.

Medicine, Magic, and Religion: The Fitzpatrick Lectures Delivered
Before the Royal College of Physicians of London in 1915 and 1916

Type

Book

Author

W. H. R Rivers

Series

Routledge classics

Place

London

Publisher

Routledge

Date

2001

ISBN

0415254035

Short Title

Medicine, Magic, and Religion

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GN477 .R5 2001

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Magic

Medicine

religion

Religious aspects

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

This work represents the Fitzpatrick
lectures delivered before the Royal College of Physicians of London in
1915 and 1916. It represents perhaps the first attempt to interpret with
real knowledge and sympathetic insight the thoughts and ideas that find
expression in primitive medicine. It is therefore a contribution of
unique value to the history of medicine.

Traditional Medicine in Africa

Type

Journal Article

Author

Nancy Romero-Daza

Abstract

Traditional medicine is the main, and often the only, source of
medical care for a great proportion of the population of the developing
world. Systems of traditional medicine are usually rooted in
long-standing cultural traditions, take a holistic approach to health,
and are community based. The World Health Organization has long
recognized the central role traditional systems of care can play in
efforts to provide primary health care, especially in rural areas. This
article provides an overview of national policies adopted by African
governments following World Health Organization recommendations for the
incorporation of traditional and allopathic systems of care.

Notes:

Traditional medicine is the main, and
often the only, source of medical care for a great proportion of the
population of the developing world. Systems of traditional medicine are
usually rooted in long-standing cultural traditions, take a holistic
approach to health, and are community based. The World Health
Organization has long recognized the central role traditional systems of
care can play in efforts to provide primary health care, especially in
rural areas. This article provides an overview of national policies
adopted by African governments following World Health Organization
recommendations for the incorporation of traditional and allopathic
systems of care.

Bioelectromagnetic and subtle energy medicine: the interface between mind and matter

Type

Journal Article

Author

Paul J Rosch

Abstract

The concept of a "life energy" can be found in many cultures in the
present time, as well as in past eras reaching back to the ancients.
Variously called qi (chi), ki, the "four humors,"prana,
"archaeus,""cosmic aether,""universal fluid,""animal magnetism," and
"odic force," among other names, this purported biofield is beginning to
yield its properties and interactions to the scientific method. Subtle
energy is the term used in this chapter, which traces the recent history
of subtle energy studies from Harold Saxton Burr and Björn Nordenström
to Jim Oschman and Jacques Benveniste. This work takes signaling in
living systems from the chemical/molecular to the physical/atomic level
of communication. Effects on heart rate variability, stress response,
inflammation, and the vagus nerve have been demonstrated and raise the
question--Can the power of subtle energies be harnessed for health
enhancement? It is fully accepted that good health depends on good
communication both within the organism and between the organism and its
environment. Sophisticated imaging procedures brought to bear on
telomere, stem cell, and genetic research are confirming the ability of
meditation and some other traditional practices to promote optimal
health through stress reduction.

Publication

Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences

Volume

1172

Pages

297-311

Date

Aug 2009

Journal Abbr

Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci

DOI

10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04535.x

ISSN

1749-6632

Short Title

Bioelectromagnetic and subtle energy medicine

Accessed

Saturday, September 26, 2009 3:41:25 PM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 19735252

Date Added

Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM

Modified

Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:06:02 AM

Tags:

Complementary Therapies

Electromagnetic Phenomena

Heart Rate

Humans

Inflammation

Qi

Stress, Psychological

Vagus Nerve

Science and Medicine in Islam: A Collection of Essays

Type

Book

Author

Franz Rosenthal

Series

Collected studies

Series Number

CS330

Place

Aldershot, Hampshire, Great Britain

Publisher

Variorum

Date

1990

ISBN

0860782824

Short Title

Science and Medicine in Islam

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

Q127.M628 R67 1990

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

collected works

History

History of Medicine, Medieval

Islamic Empire

Medicine, Arab

Medicine, Arabic

Science

Notes:

The achievements of medieval Muslim
scholars in the fields of philosophy, science and medicine are now well
recognized, and Franz Rosenthal’s work has been instrumental in helping
us to understand these. In this third collection of his articles, he
demonstrates the information to be gained from tracing the Greek roots
of the science and medicine of the Islamic world in the Middle Ages. Of
particular concern here are the Hellenistic or late Hellenistic authors
such as Galen, Hippocrates or Ptolemy. These articles show how Muslim
writers have preserved much that has been lost in the Greek and played a
vital part in ensuring the continuity of the classical tradition, and
examine some of the specific ways in which they reacted to and developed
it. They also deal with questions such as the place of the physician in
society and the medical attitude towards homosexuality. As previously,
the opportunity has been taken to add extra notes, and there is further
included, published for the first time, a complete bibliography of the
author’s works.

Notes:

This essay examines alternative religious
vocations and choices of cures that are open to women in the Sri Lankan
Buddhist context. The focus of the investigation is a Theravada Buddhist
hermitage that was studied over an eleven-year period. The article
presents case histories of nuns who are representative of the
individuals living at the hermitage, and demonstrates how the illnesses
they suffer concurrently with their ecstatic trances (interpreted as
spirit possession) receive meaning and can be cured within the framework
of Buddhist asceticism in Sri Lanka.

The terminally ill Muslim: death and dying from the Muslim perspective

Type

Journal Article

Author

N Sarhill

Author

S LeGrand

Author

R Islambouli

Author

M P Davis

Author

D Walsh

Abstract

Islam holds life as sacred and belonging to God and that all
creatures will die one day. Suicide is forbidden. Muslims believe death
is only a transition between two different lives. The terminally ill
Muslim desires to perform five ritual requirements. Do not resuscitate
(DNR) orders are acceptable. A deceased Muslim must always be buried
after being ritually washed and wrapped. There are different Muslim
schools of thought, but they are united regarding their views on death
and dying.

Tags:

Attitude to Death

Attitude to Health

Cultural Diversity

Ethics, Medical

Funeral Rites

Grief

Humans

ISLAM

Patient Advocacy

Resuscitation Orders

Terminal Care

United States

Notes:

Islam holds life as sacred and belonging
to God and that all creatures will die one day. Suicide is forbidden.
Muslims believe death is only a transition between two different lives.
The terminally ill Muslim desires to perform five ritual requirements.
Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders are acceptable. A deceased Muslim must
always be buried after being ritually washed and wrapped. There are
different Muslim schools of thought, but they are united regarding their
views on death and dying.

Notes:

Objective: Despite a growing body of
literature on complementary and alternative medicine, there is still
limited information on the use of Ayurveda in the United States. Because
Ayurveda is one of the world’s major traditional medical systems,
knowledge of its use is important. In particular, information on
utilization by Asian Indians living in the United States is needed due
to increased immigration from India and related regions. Recent reports
of heavy metal contamination of some imported Ayurveda products
underscore this need. For this reason, an exploratory survey was
conducted. Design: A semistructured 21-item questionnaire was
administered using face-to-face interviews. PARTICIPANTS AND Setting:
The study comprised a convenience sample of 64 Asian Indians living in
Northern California. Outcome measures: Main outcome measures included
sociodemographic variables, questions on awareness, knowledge and use of
Ayurvedic products or services, use of other nutritional/herbal
products, and reasons for use. Results: In the sample, 95% of the
participants were aware of Ayurveda, 78% had knowledge of Ayurvedic
products or treatments, and about 59% had used or were currently using
Ayurveda. Only 18% of those using Ayurveda had informed their Western
medical doctors. Conclusions: Given its common use in the United States
by Asian Indians, its cultural relevance, potential therapeutic value,
and possible safety concerns, physician and consumer education along
with more empirical research is warranted.

Notes:

The discourse on alternative medicine
assumes that medical practices exist as distinctive medical systems that
compete with each other in plural health care systems. Anthropological
and historical research clearly demonstrates, however, that this is not
so. Many so-called traditional medicines are revealed as inventions of
distinctly modern regimes of knowledge and institutional practice, while
the political needs of healers and the epistemological desires of
researchers converge in the construction of distinctive medical
practices for description, classification, and comparison. This article
draws on genealogy as a possible way out of this impasse. It shows how
different generations of physicians of Chinese medicine employed the
same four core concepts to reflect on their practice, imbuing them with
ever new meanings to relate them to the changing demands of clinical and
political practice. Examining these core concepts reveals something
about the essence of Chinese medicine without reducing our analysis to a
misguided search for cultural essences.

Is homeopathy a science?--Continuity and clash of concepts of science within holistic medicine

Type

Journal Article

Author

Josef M Schmidt

Abstract

The question of whether homeopathy is a science is currently
discussed almost exclusively against the background of the modern
concept of natural science. This approach, however, fails to notice that
homeopathy-in terms of history of science-rests on different roots that
can essentially be traced back to two most influential traditions of
science: on the one hand, principles and notions of Aristotelism which
determined 2,000 years of Western history of science and, on the other
hand, the modern concept of natural science that has been dominating the
history of medicine for less than 200 years. While Aristotle's "science
of the living" still included ontologic and teleologic dimensions for
the sake of comprehending nature in a uniform way, the interest of
modern natural science was reduced to functional and causal explanations
of all phenomena for the purpose of commanding nature. In order to
prevent further ecological catastrophes as well as to regain lost
dimensions of our lives, the one-sidedness and theory-loadedness of our
modern natural-scientific view of life should henceforth be
counterbalanced by lifeworld-practical Aristotelic categories. In this
way, the ground would be ready to conceive the scientific character of
homeopathy-in a broader, Aristotelian sense.

Tags:

Holistic Health

Homeopathy

Humans

Science

Notes:

The question of whether homeopathy is a
science is currently discussed almost exclusively against the background
of the modern concept of natural science. This approach, however, fails
to notice that homeopathy-in terms of history of science-rests on
different roots that can essentially be traced back to two most
influential traditions of science: on the one hand, principles and
notions of Aristotelism which determined 2,000 years of Western history
of science and, on the other hand, the modern concept of natural science
that has been dominating the history of medicine for less than 200
years. While Aristotle’s “science of the living” still included
ontologic and teleologic dimensions for the sake of comprehending nature
in a uniform way, the interest of modern natural science was reduced to
functional and causal explanations of all phenomena for the purpose of
commanding nature. In order to prevent further ecological catastrophes
as well as to regain lost dimensions of our lives, the one-sidedness and
theory-loadedness of our modern natural-scientific view of life should
henceforth be counterbalanced by lifeworld-practical Aristotelic
categories. In this way, the ground would be ready to conceive the
scientific character of homeopathy-in a broader, Aristotelian sense.

Christian Science on Trial: Religious Healing in America

Type

Book

Author

Rennie B Schoepflin

Series

Medicine, science, and religion in historical context

Place

Baltimore

Publisher

Johns Hopkins University Press

Date

2003

ISBN

0801870577

Short Title

Christian Science on Trial

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

BX6950 .S34 2003

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Christian Science

History

Law and legislation

Medical care

Medicine

Religious aspects

United States

I Choose Life: Contemporary Medical and Religious Practices in the Navajo World

Type

Book

Author

Maureen Trudelle Schwarz

Place

Norman

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Date

2008

ISBN

9780806139418

Short Title

"I Choose Life"

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

E99.N3 S3577 2008

Date Added

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Modified

Saturday, October 01, 2011 5:02:41 PM

Tags:

Christianity and other religions

Indians, North American

Medicine

Medicine, Traditional

Navajo Indians

religion

Religion and Medicine

Shamanism

Southwest, New

Surgery

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

This book investigates how Navajos
navigate their medically and religiously pluralistic world while coping
with illness. Focusing on Navajo attitudes toward invasive procedures,
Schwarz reveals the ideological conflicts experienced by Navajo patients
and the reasons behind the choices they make to promote their own
health and healing.

Islamic perspectives in human reproduction

Type

Journal Article

Author

G I Serour

Abstract

Assisted reproductive technology is widely practised around the
world for the treatment of virtually all forms of infertility. The
application of this technology in the Islamic world had been delayed for
many years, based on the misconception that Islamic teachings do not
approve assisted reproduction. The paper discusses derivation of Islamic
rulings and its impact on the ethics of contemporary issues, including
family formation and assisted reproduction. It clearly shows that Islam
encourages family formation and assisted reproduction, when indicated,
within the frame of marriage. It also discusses differences among Muslim
sects, Sunni and Shi'aa. The paper also discusses Islamic rulings on
the new emerging practices in assisted reproduction, including
surrogacy, multifetal pregnancy reduction, cryopreservation, pregnancy
in the post-menopausal period, sex selection and embryo implantation
following the husband's death. The moral status of the embryo in Islam
is discussed. Organ differentiation and ensoulment are believed to occur
at 42 days after fertilization at the earliest. As individuation of the
embryo does not occur before 14 days from fertilization, research on
surplus embryos during this period is allowed. Similarly,
preimplantation genetic diagnosis, gene therapy and non-reproductive
cloning for the benefit of humanity are ethically acceptable in Islam.
This information should help physicians in their decision before
conscientious objection to offering various modalities of assisted
reproduction to their infertile patients.

Notes:

Assisted reproductive technology is widely
practised around the world for the treatment of virtually all forms of
infertility. The application of this technology in the Islamic world had
been delayed for many years, based on the misconception that Islamic
teachings do not approve assisted reproduction. The paper discusses
derivation of Islamic rulings and its impact on the ethics of
contemporary issues, including family formation and assisted
reproduction. It clearly shows that Islam encourages family formation
and assisted reproduction, when indicated, within the frame of marriage.
It also discusses differences among Muslim sects, Sunni and Shi’aa. The
paper also discusses Islamic rulings on the new emerging practices in
assisted reproduction, including surrogacy, multifetal pregnancy
reduction, cryopreservation, pregnancy in the post-menopausal period,
sex selection and embryo implantation following the husband’s death. The
moral status of the embryo in Islam is discussed. Organ differentiation
and ensoulment are believed to occur at 42 days after fertilization at
the earliest. As individuation of the embryo does not occur before 14
days from fertilization, research on surplus embryos during this period
is allowed. Similarly, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, gene therapy
and non-reproductive cloning for the benefit of humanity are ethically
acceptable in Islam. This information should help physicians in their
decision before conscientious objection to offering various modalities
of assisted reproduction to their infertile patients.

A Philosophical Examination of the History and Values of Western Medicine

Type

Book

Author

Paul W Sharkey

Place

Lewiston, N.Y., USA

Publisher

E. Mellen Press

Date

1992

ISBN

0773492100

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R723 .S515 1992

Date Added

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Modified

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Tags:

Delivery of Health Care

Ethics, Medical

History

Medical ethics

Medicine

Philosophy

Philosophy, Medical

Religion and Medicine

Notes:

The study’s central thesis is that
medicine reflects better than any other discipline the ethical crises of
our age and that these are the natural result of the schism between
“facts” and “values” brought about at the time of the scientific
revolution. It offers a brief introduction to the philosophical history
of medicine, argues that current ethical theory rests upon a fallacy of
abstraction, calls for a more realistic appraisal of ethical
responsibility, and challenges the notion that ethics is necessarily
more “subjective” than science. The work goes on to examine the role of
ethics in medical education, managing ethical issues in health-care
delivery systems, medical economics, abortion, and sexually
transmissible diseases, giving special attention to the realities of
ethical responsibility in each case.

Contextualizing Alternative Medicine: The Exotic, the Marginal and the Perfectly Mundane

Tags:

Spiritual and alternative healthcare practices of the Amish

Type

Journal Article

Author

Patricia A. Sharpnack

Author

Mary T. Quinn Griffin

Author

Alison M. Benders

Author

Joyce J. Fitzpatrick

Abstract

Although the use of spiritual and alternative healthcare practices
is increasing, knowledge of these practices among the Amish is limited.
This study explored the spiritual and healthcare practices of 134 Amish.
Information about the diversity and prevalence of these practices among
the Amish may be useful to nurses in practice.

Publication

Holistic Nursing Practice

Volume

24

Issue

2

Pages

64-72

Date

2010 Mar-Apr

Journal Abbr

Holist Nurs Pract

DOI

10.1097/HNP.0b013e3181d39ade

ISSN

1550-5138

Accessed

Monday, March 22, 2010 8:17:27 PM

Library Catalog

NCBI PubMed

Extra

PMID: 20186016

Date Added

Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

Modified

Thursday, September 29, 2011 9:04:02 AM

Eastern and Western Approaches to Healing: Ancient Wisdom and Modern Knowledge

Type

Book

Author

Anees A Sheikh

Author

Katharina S Sheikh

Series

Wiley series on health psychology/behavioral medicine

Place

New York

Publisher

Wiley

Date

1989

ISBN

0471628905

Short Title

Eastern and Western Approaches to Healing

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R726.5 .E27 1989

Date Added

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Tags:

Cross-Cultural Comparison

Medicine and psychology

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Medicine, Oriental

Medicine, Oriental Traditional

Mind and body

Psychiatry

Psychiatry, Transcultural

Psychology

Psychotherapy

Notes:

This book surveys the various approaches
to health care as defined by the major Eastern and Western philosophies.
Contains comments on the effect Eastern thought has had on Western
medicine and psychology.

Qigong: where did it come from? Where does it fit in science? What are the advances?

Notes:

Tabona Shoko contends that religion and
healing are intricately intertwined in African religions. This book on
the religion of the Karanga people of Zimbabwe sheds light on important
methodological issues relevant to research in the study of African
religions. Analysing the traditional Karanga views of the causes of
illness and disease, mechanisms of diagnosis at their disposal and the
methods they use to restore health, Shoko discusses the views of a
specific African Independent Church of the Apostolic tradition. The
conclusion Shoko reaches about the central religious concerns of the
Karanga people is derived from detailed field research consisting of
interviews and participant observation. This book testifies that the
centrality of health and well-being is not only confined to traditional
religion but reflects its adaptive potential in new religious systems
manifest in the phenomenon of Independent Churches. Rather than
succumbing to the folly of static generalizations, Tabona Shoko offers
important insights into a particular society upon which theories can be
reassessed, adding new dimensions to modern features of the religious
scene in Africa.

The Body of Compassion: Ethics, Medicine, and the Church

Type

Book

Author

Joel James Shuman

Series

Radical traditions

Place

Boulder, Colo

Publisher

Westview Press

Date

1999

ISBN

0813367042

Short Title

The Body of Compassion

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R725.56 .S54 1999

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Tags:

Bioethics

Christian ethics

Christianity

Ethics, Medical

Health

Human body

Medical ethics

Religion and Medicine

Religious aspects

Traditional Medicine in Africa

Type

Book

Contributor

Chacha Nyaigotti Chacha

Contributor

Mary Peter Kanunah

Editor

Isaac Sindiga

Place

Nairobi

Publisher

East African Educational Publishers

Date

1995

ISBN

9966465480

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR350 .T73 1995

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Tags:

Africa

Social life and customs

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

The inaccessibility of biomedicine to most
of Africa’s population because of escalating costs has necessitated a
search for alternative ways of managing illnesses. Traditional medicine,
which has always been practised in the indigenous cultures, is fast
filling this therapeutic gap. This book is a collection of essays based
on a multidisciplinary approach to traditional medicine in Africa. It
has contributions from social scientists, natural resource experts,
traditional medical practitioners, educationists, and medical scholars.
It attempts to define the problems of traditional medicine in Africa,
while also discussing the conceptual foundations of African
ethnomedicine and medical pluralism.

The bias against India in western literature on history of medicine: with special emphasis on public health

Tags:

Historiography

History, 19th Century

History, 20th Century

History, 21st Century

History, Modern 1601-

India

Public health

Publication Bias

Western World

Notes:

The article describes a systematic bias
against India in Western literature on history of medicine. While many
authors have ignored the contributions of India in development of
medicine altogether, the others have relegated India’s role much behind
other civilizations. Unnecessary and deliberate controversies on dating
and origin of Ayurveda, primacy of Greek vs. Hindu Medicine and the
origin of the practice of variolation have been elaborated by Western
authors. Some medical historians, like Siegrist, have tried to give
India its due place in the history of medicine. Suitable references of
Indian authors have also been quoted to give a comparative and balanced
picture. The need for settling this controversy has been emphasized.

Health and medicine in the Anglican tradition : conscience, community, and compromise

Type

Book

Author

David Smith

Place

New York

Publisher

Crossroad

Date

1986

ISBN

9780824507169

Short Title

Health and medicine in the Anglican tradition

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Stress : from molecules to behaviour : a comprehensive analysis of the neurobiology of stress responses

Type

Book

Author

H Soreq

Place

Weinheim; Chichester

Publisher

Wiley-VCH

Date

2009

ISBN

9783527323746

Date Added

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Modified

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Facing Death: Where Culture, Religion, and Medicine Meet

Type

Book

Author

Howard M Spiro

Author

Mary G. McCrea Curnen

Author

Lee Palmer Wandel

Contributor

Yale University

Contributor

Goethe-Institut (Boston, Mass.)

Place

New Haven

Publisher

Yale University Press

Date

1996

ISBN

0300063490

Short Title

Facing Death

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Date Added

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Tags:

Death

Ethics, Professional

Moral and ethical aspects

Psychological aspects

Religion and Medicine

Religious aspects

Terminal Care

Terminally Ill

Notes:

This book brings together health
professionals and distinguished authorities in the humanities to reflect
on medical, cultural, and religious responses to death. Physicians and
other caregivers describe their experiences witnessing death, and
theologians, historians, anthropologists, literary scholars, and pastors
tell how other cultures and religions perceive death and mourn. For
medical personnel and for patients, this collection affirms that death
is less an adversary than a defining part of life.

The social transformation of American medicine

Type

Book

Author

Paul Starr

Place

New York

Publisher

Basic Books

Date

1982

ISBN

9780465079346

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Notes:

Winner of the 1983 Pulitzer Prize and the
Bancroft Prize in American History, this is a landmark history of how
the entire American health care system of doctors, hospitals, health
plans, and government programs has evolved over the last two centuries.

Chinese magical medicine

Type

Book

Author

Michel Strickmann

Place

Stanford Calif.

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Date

2002

ISBN

9780804734493

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

Date Added

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Notes:

This book argues that the most profound
and far-reaching effects of Buddhism on Chinese culture occurred at the
level of practice, specifically in religious rituals designed to cure
people of disease, demonic possession, and bad luck. This practice would
leave its most lasting imprint on the liturgical tradition of Taoism.
In focusing on religious practice, it provides a corrective to
traditional studies of Chinese religion, which overemphasize metaphysics
and spirituality.

Tags:

Encyclopedias as Topic

History, Ancient

India

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Notes:

The Puranas are the encyclopedic works of
the ancient and medieval Hindu religion, philosophy, history, politics,
ethics, sciences etc. There are 18 (Astadasa) puranas, which are,
considered as mahapuranas, among which Garudapurana is popular one. The
Garudapurana is divided into two parts viz., Purvakhanda and
Uttarakhanda. The first part, which is also called Acarakhanda consists
of 240 chapters. The greater part of the Purvakhanda occupies the
descriptions of Vratas (religious observances), sacred places dedicated
to the Surya (sun), Lord Siva and Lord Visnu. It also contains treatises
on various aspects like astrology, palmistry, politics, Sankhya, Yoga,
anatomy, precious stones and extensive information on vedic medicine
i.e., Ayurveda. The Uttarakhanda consists of two khandas viz.
Dharmakhanda and Brahmakhanda, which are divided into 42 and 29
chapters, respectively. The Dharmakhanda is also known as the Pretakalpa
which contains directions for the performance of obsequies rites. The
Pretakalpa portion of the Garudapurana is generally recited during the
period of mourning and so its importance is self-evident. It is almost
impossible to narrate within such a small framework, the wide range of
splendid truths scattered in the pages of this noble puranam. Little
information is available from internal evidence to establish its exact
period. However, it is supposed to be quite ancient in its origin.

Tags:

Formularies as Topic

History, Ancient

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Pharmacy

Plant Preparations

Plants, Medicinal

Notes:

Pharmaceutical is one of the allied
branches of science, which is closely associated with Medical science.
Today pharmaceutical chemistry and pharmacognosy are playing important
role in treatment for a disease and its prevention. Herbal medicines are
being used by about 80% of the world population mostly in the
developing countries in the primary health care. There has been an
upsurge in demand for the Phyto-pharmaceutical products of Ayurveda in
western nations, because of the fact that the synthetic drugs are
considered to be unsafe. Due to this many national and multinational
pharmaceutical companies are now concentrating on manufacturing of
Ayurvedic Phyto-pharmaceutical products. Ayurveda is the Indian
traditional system of medicine, which also deals about pharmaceutical
science. The Ayurvedic knowledge of the pharmaceutical science is
scattered in Ayurvedic classical texts. Saranghadhara Samhita, which is
written by Saranghadhara, explain systematically about the information
of the Ayurvedic pharmaceutical science and also updated it.
Industrialized manufacturing of Ayurvedic dosage forms has brought in
new challenges like deviation from basic concepts of medicine
preparation. Saranghadhara Samrhita the devout text on pharmaceutics in
Ayurveda comes handy to solve such problems, as the methods described
are very lucid and easy to follow.

Healing and restoring : health and medicine in the world's religious traditions

Type

Book

Author

Lawrence Sullivan

Place

New York

Publisher

Macmillan

Date

1989

ISBN

9780029237915

Short Title

Healing and restoring

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Chi for Children: A Practical Guide to Teaching Tai Chi and Qigong in Schools and the Community

Tags:

Indian mythology

Indians of North America

North America

religion

Notes:

This collection of writings is from
authors who are either Indians who have tried to make themselves heard,
or whites who have tried to hear Indians. The first part of the book
emphasizes the practical and includes Isaac Tens’s “Career of the
Medicine Man”. The second section concentrates on the theoretical and
contains Benjamin Lee Whorf’s “American Indian Model of the Universe”
and chapters on Indian metaphysics, among other things. In addition to
an introductory essay on the Indian’s stance towards reality, the
editors have contributed chapters entitled “The Clown’s Way” and “An
American Indian View of Death”.

Tags:

Aged

Aged, 80 and over

Attitude to Health

Humans

India

Male

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Philosophy

Religion and Medicine

Social Identification

Notes:

In-depth interviews and participant
observation was conducted with 14 Hindu religious renunciates, 70 years
or older. Despite having taken vows renouncing concern for physical pain
or comfort, respondents differed markedly in their attitudes toward
pain and their rationale for utilizing medical treatment. They differed
still further in their use of Ayurvedic and allopathic medicine, with
the most culturally conservative accepting only Ayurvedic medicine.
Rejection of allopathic medicine tended to be associated with a highly
systematized religious world-view. The results are discussed in terms of
both the ideological conflict between religious world-view and medical
usage, and the need for sophisticated distinction of religious
world-view if research on the religious factor of health care
utilization is to prove fruitful.

Shamanism, history, and the state

Type

Book

Author

Nicholas Thomas

Place

Ann Arbor

Publisher

University of Michigan Press

Date

1994

ISBN

9780472105120

Library Catalog

Open WorldCat

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Notes:

The literature on shamanism and related
topics is extensive, but has in general been biased toward curing and
trance; the political and historical significance of shamanic activities
has been largely neglected. The contributors to Shamanism, History, and
the State--distinguished anthropologists and historians from England,
Australia, and France--show that shamanism is not static and stable, but
always changing as a result of political dynamics and historical
processes.

Tags:

Alzheimer Disease

Arteriosclerosis

Free Radicals

Humans

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Models, Biological

Molecular Biology

Notes:

In ayurvedic system of medicine, it is
considered that a living system is made of panch-mahabuta, in the form
of Vata, pitta and kapha at the physical level and satwa, raja and tama
at the mental level. This covers the psychosomatic constitution and
commonly known as the Tridosh theory. The imbalance in these body
humours is the basic cause of any type of disease manifestation. Till
date, several objective parameters have been proposed to monitor the
level of these basic humours but none of them is complete. In this
exercise, now it is proposed to consider free radical theory of diseases
as one of the objective parameters. To be more specific, vata can be
monitored in terms of membrane bound signal transduction, pitta as the
process of phosphorylation and de-phosphorylation of different proteins
(signalling moieties and enzymes) and kapha can be viewed as the degree
of gene expression as protein synthesis. This can be correlated with the
ojas of the body or total body defence mechanism.

Ibn Jazlah and his 11th century accounts (Taqwim al-abdan fi tadbir
al-insan) of disease of the brain and spinal cord. Historical vignette

Tags:

Books

Brain Diseases

History, Medieval

Iraq

Medicine, Arabic

Spinal Cord Diseases

Notes:

The 11th century was culturally and
medicinally one of the most exciting periods in the history of Islam.
Medicine of this day was influenced by the Greeks, Indians, Persians,
Coptics, and Syriacs. One of the most prolific writers of this period
was Ibn Jazlah, who resided in Baghdad in the district of Karkh. Ibn
Jazlah made many important observations regarding diseases of the brain
and spinal cord. These contributions and a review of the life and times
of this early Muslim physician are presented.

Islamic legacy of cardiology: Inspirations from the holy sources

Type

Journal Article

Author

Okan Turgut

Author

Kenan Yalta

Author

Izzet Tandogan

Abstract

The main source of all inspirational knowledge in Islam is indeed
the Holy Qur'an. The verses of the Qur'an as well as the Hadeeth and
Sunnah literature have also accumulated a number of teachings and
practices in relation to cardiovascular medicine. Islam is actually a
comprehensive system of life, which provides mankind with the best forms
of balance between the mundane and the spiritual. Early era of Islamic
medicine has generated some very famous and notable physicians. The
greatest physician of this era was Avicenna who devoted a substantial
section of his classic magnum opus, the Canon of Medicine, to
cardiovascular disorders. The empirical guidelines and principles of the
Qur'an and Sunnah might contribute to the understanding and evaluation
of various disturbances of the heart and vessels. Islamic legacy will
still continue to inspire the contemporary cardiology in investigating
cardiovascular diseases.

Notes:

The main source of all inspirational
knowledge in Islam is indeed the Holy Qur’an. The verses of the Qur’an
as well as the Hadeeth and Sunnah literature have also accumulated a
number of teachings and practices in relation to cardiovascular
medicine. Islam is actually a comprehensive system of life, which
provides mankind with the best forms of balance between the mundane and
the spiritual. Early era of Islamic medicine has generated some very
famous and notable physicians. The greatest physician of this era was
Avicenna who devoted a substantial section of his classic magnum opus,
the Canon of Medicine, to cardiovascular disorders. The empirical
guidelines and principles of the Qur’an and Sunnah might contribute to
the understanding and evaluation of various disturbances of the heart
and vessels. Islamic legacy will still continue to inspire the
contemporary cardiology in investigating cardiovascular diseases.

Islamic Medicine

Type

Book

Author

Manfred Ullmann

Series

Islamic surveys

Series Number

11

Place

Edinburgh

Publisher

Edinburgh University Press

Date

1978

ISBN

0852243251

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

D199.3

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Tags:

Medicine, Arab

Notes:

This highly readable survey describes the
development of Islamic medicine and its influence on Western medical
thought. It explains the main features of Islamic medicine: its system
of human physiology; its ideas about the nature of disease; its rules
for diet and the use of drugs; and its relationship with astrology and
the occult.

Anatomy of the eye from the view of Ibn Al-Haitham (965-1039). The founder of modern optics

Tags:

Egypt

History, Medieval

Humans

Medicine, Arabic

Ophthalmology

Optics and Photonics

Reference Books, Medical

Notes:

Ibn Al-Haitham (known as Alhazen in Latin
[965 Basra, Iraq-1039, Cairo, Egypt]) was a scientist who played an
important role in the middle age Islam world. He wrote many books and
novels, but only 90 of them are known. His main book Kitab al-Manazir
was translated into Western languages in the late twelfth century, and
in the early thirteenth century. In this book, he formulated many
hypotheses on optical science. The book, which is also known as Optic
treasure (opticae thesaurus), affected many famous Western scientists.
He became an authority until the seventeenth century in the Eastern and
Western countries. Roger Bacon (1212-1294), who made radical changes in
the Western optical traditions, reconfirmed Ibn Al-Haitham’s findings.
Ibn al-Haitham began his book Kitab al-Manazir with the anatomy and
physiology of the eye. He specifically described cornea, humor aqueous,
lens, and corpus vitreum. He examined the effect of light on seeing. He
caused changes in the prevailing ideas of his age, and suggested that
light came from objects, not from the eye. He provided information
regarding the optic nerve, retina, iris, and conjunctiva. He showed the
system of the eye as a dioptric, and the relations between the parts of
the eye. It is understood that he mastered all knowledge on the
structure of the eye in his century. The best proof of this is the eye
picture that he drew.

Medicine in China: A History of Ideas

Type

Book

Author

Paul U Unschuld

Place

Berkeley

Publisher

University of California Press

Date

1985

ISBN

0520050231

Short Title

Medicine in China

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R602 .U56 1985

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Tags:

MEDICINE, Chinese

Philosophy

Notes:

In the first comprehensive and analytical
study of therapeutic concepts and practices in China, Paul Unschuld
traces the history of documented health care from its earliest extant
records to present developments.

How Islam changed medicine: Ibn Sina (Avicenna) saw medicine and surgery as one

African Medicine and Magic in the Americas

Type

Journal Article

Author

Robert Voeks

Abstract

African-derived ethnomedical systems are visible elements of the New
World cultural landscape. Rejected by Western medicine, African healing
systems have survived and flourished in the Americas since the
beginning of the slave trade. Historical introduction of African
magico-medical systems, the social and economic factors that facilitated
their survival, and the role of plant geography in their persistence
are examined. Questions of origin, ethnomedical typology, religion, and
syncretism, magic and power, and collective medicinal plant knowledge
are considered.

Notes:

African-derived ethnomedical systems are
visible elements of the New World cultural landscape. Rejected by
Western medicine, African healing systems have survived and flourished
in the Americas since the beginning of the slave trade. Historical
introduction of African magico-medical systems, the social and economic
factors that facilitated their survival, and the role of plant geography
in their persistence are examined. Questions of origin, ethnomedical
typology, religion, and syncretism, magic and power, and collective
medicinal plant knowledge are considered.

American Indian Medicine

Type

Book

Author

Virgil J. Vogel

Publisher

University of Oklahoma Press

Date

1990-09

ISBN

0806122935

Library Catalog

Amazon.com

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Journey Into Healing: The Transformative Experience of Shamanic Healing on Women With Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

Type

Journal Article

Author

Nancy Vuckovic

Author

Jennifer Schneider

Author

Louise A. Williams

Author

Michelle Ramirez

Abstract

Objective
To evaluate participants' perceptions of illness, healing process, and
experience of effects from shamanic treatment as reported from in-depth
interviews.Theoretical Framework
Consistent with a whole systems research model, qualitative methods were
used to evaluate the outcomes and experiences of clinical trial
participants. Quantitative results are reported elsewhere.Method
Twenty participants completed five visits with a randomly assigned
shamanic practitioner and completed pretreatment and posttreatment
in-depth interviews conducted by trained, qualitative
researchers.Context
Some physical and psychological symptoms associated with
temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) may be indicative of the
shamanic definition of soul loss. Because this was the first clinical
trial of shamanic healing for TMD pain, a mixed-methods approach enabled
researchers to capture a wide range of participants'
experiences.Participants
Eligible volunteers were women aged between 25 to 55 years, naive to
shamanic healing, with a confirmed diagnosis of TMD and a pain level of
three or higher on the Research Diagnostic Criteria Axis II
questionnaire.Data Collection
For consistency, interviewers followed a guide that allowed individual
experiences to emerge. Interviews lasted about one hour, were recorded,
and professionally transcribed.Analysis and Interpretation
Following standard qualitative analysis procedures, researchers
developed and applied thematic codes to transcribed text of interviews.
Coded text was reviewed to generate summaries of thematic content.Main
Results
Although participants described physical changes, three times as much
text was devoted to changes in self-awareness, capacity for coping,
improvement in relationships, and taking better care of themselves.
Their experience describes a process of transformation.

Tags:

A History of Traditional Medicine and Health Care in Pre-Colonial East-Central Africa

Type

Book

Author

Gloria Martha Waite

Place

Lewiston, N.Y

Publisher

E. Mellen Press

Date

1992

ISBN

0773497072

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R653.Z33 W35 1992

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Tags:

Africa

Health Services, Indigenous

History

Medicine

Medicine, Traditional

Tanzania

TRADITIONAL medicine

Zambia

Notes:

This study reconstructs the medical
history of people in eastern Zambia and the Kilombero valley in
south-central Tanzania over a period of about 2000 years. It is based on
written and personal interviews.

The Efficacy of Traditional Medicine: Current Theoretical and Methodological Issues

Type

Journal Article

Author

James B. Waldram

Abstract

The efficacy of traditional medicine is an issue that continues to
vex medical anthropology. This article critically examines how the
efficacy of traditional medicine has been conceived, operationalized,
and studied and argues that a consensus remains elusive. Efficacy must
be seen as fluid and shifting, the product of a negotiated, but not
necessarily shared, understanding by those involved in the sickness
episode, including physicians/healers, patients, and members of the
community. Medical anthropology needs to return to the field to gather
more data on indigenous understandings of efficacy to counteract the
biases inherent in the utilization of biomedical understandings and
methods characteristic of much previous work.

Notes:

The efficacy of traditional medicine is an
issue that continues to vex medical anthropology. This article
critically examines how the efficacy of traditional medicine has been
conceived, operationalized, and studied and argues that a consensus
remains elusive. Efficacy must be seen as fluid and shifting, the
product of a negotiated, but not necessarily shared, understanding by
those involved in the sickness episode, including physicians/healers,
patients, and members of the community. Medical anthropology needs to
return to the field to gather more data on indigenous understandings of
efficacy to counteract the biases inherent in the utilization of
biomedical understandings and methods characteristic of much previous
work.

American medicine as religious practice: care of the sick as a sacred obligation and the unholy descent into secularization

Type

Journal Article

Author

Margaret P Wardlaw

Abstract

Modern medicine serves a religious function for modern Americans as a
conduit through which science can be applied directly to the human
body. The first half of this paper will focus on the theoretical
foundations for viewing medicine as a religious practice arguing that
just as a hierarchical structured authoritarian church historically
mediated access to God, contemporary Western medicine provides a conduit
by which the universalizable truths of science can be applied to the
human being thereby functioning as a new established religion. I will
then illustrate the many parallels between medicine and religion through
an analysis of rituals and symbols surrounding and embedded within the
modern practice of medicine. This analysis will pay special attention to
the primacy placed on secret interior knowledge of the human body. I
will end by responding to the hope for a "secularization of American
medicine," exploring some of the negative consequences of
secularization, and arguing that, rather than seeking to secularize,
American medicine should strive to use its religious features to offer
hope and healing to the sick, in keeping with its historically religious
legacy.

Notes:

Objectives: The aim of this research was
to explore with a heterogeneous Muslim population their understanding of
the concept of mental health and how any mental distress experienced by
an individual can best be addressed. Design: A qualitative approach was
taken. Participants were interviewed, and data analysed thematically.
Methods: A sample of 14 Muslims was interviewed according to a
semi-structured interview schedule. Participants were recruited via
electronic mailing lists, and communications with local Muslim
organizations. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data were
analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Thematic analysis identified
seven operationalizing themes that were given the labels ‘causes’,
‘problem management’, ‘relevance of services’, ‘barriers’, ‘service
delivery’, ‘therapy content’, and ‘therapist characteristics’.
Conclusions: The results highlight the interweaving of religious and
secular perspectives on mental distress and responses to it. Potential
barriers are discussed, as are the important characteristics of therapy,
therapists, and service provision. Clinical implications are presented
along with the limitations of this study and suggestions for future
research.

The Christian Science Textbook: An Analysis of the Religious Authority of Science and Health by Mary Baker Eddy

Notes:

Rather than follow along the lines of many
scholarly interpretations of Patañjali’s “Yoga-Sutra,” which views Yoga
as a radical separation or isolation of “spirit” or pure consciousness
(purusa) from “matter” (prakrti), this essay suggests that the
“Yoga-Sutra” seeks to “unite” or integrate these two principles by
correcting a basic misalignment between them. Yoga thus does not
advocate the abandonment or condemnation of the world, but supports a
stance that enables one to live more fully in the world without being
enslaved by worldly identification.

Nature Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America

Type

Book

Author

James C Whorton

Place

Oxford

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

2002

# of Pages

368

ISBN

0195140710

Short Title

Nature Cures

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R733 .W495 2002

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Tags:

20th century

Alternative medicine

History

United States

Notes:

Esteemed medical historian Dr. James
C. Whorton seeks to bring light to the flourishing of complementary and
alternative medicine and provide its rich historical context in Nature
Cures: The History of Alternative Medicine in America. Whorton packs his
book with historical information, primary research, detailed analysis,
and the occasional apt poem to blend the diverse sections together into a
comprehensive textbook that is both illuminating and accessible. It is a
treasure for anyone, scholarly or not, who wants to learn about CAM,
its history, and its place within American culture. While he seems to
have fun with some of the more peculiar aspects of alternative medicine
and its history, Whorton has a strong sympathy with the underlying
worldview of CAM.

Current Concepts in Limb Regeneration

Type

Journal Article

Author

Jordan Wicker

Author

Kenneth Kamler

Abstract

This review covers historical perspectives of regeneration biology
and current research regarding human extremity tissue regeneration. With
a greater understanding of the mechanisms involved in regeneration,
cognitive-behavioral practices such as meditation and yoga may assist in
achieving regeneration.

Hypnosis and surgery: past, present, and future

Type

Journal Article

Author

Albrecht H K Wobst

Abstract

Hypnosis has been defined as the induction of a subjective state in
which alterations of perception or memory can be elicited by suggestion.
Ever since the first public demonstrations of "animal magnetism" by
Mesmer in the 18th century, the use of this psychological tool has
fascinated the medical community and public alike. The application of
hypnosis to alter pain perception and memory dates back centuries. Yet
little progress has been made to fully comprehend or appreciate its
potential compared to the pharmacologic advances in anesthesiology.
Recently, hypnosis has aroused interest, as hypnosis seems to complement
and possibly enhance conscious sedation. Contemporary clinical
investigators claim that the combination of analgesia and hypnosis is
superior to conventional pharmacologic anesthesia for minor surgical
cases, with patients and surgeons responding favorably. Simultaneously,
basic research of pain pathways involving the nociceptive flexion reflex
and positron emission tomography has yielded objective data regarding
the physiologic correlates of hypnosis. In this article I review the
history, basic scientific and clinical studies, and modern practical
considerations of one of the oldest therapeutical tools: the power of
suggestion.

Tags:

Forecasting

Humans

Hypnosis

Hypnosis, Anesthetic

Surgical Procedures, Operative

Notes:

Hypnosis has been defined as the induction
of a subjective state in which alterations of perception or memory can
be elicited by suggestion. Ever since the first public demonstrations of
“animal magnetism” by Mesmer in the 18th century, the use of this
psychological tool has fascinated the medical community and public
alike. The application of hypnosis to alter pain perception and memory
dates back centuries. Yet little progress has been made to fully
comprehend or appreciate its potential compared to the pharmacologic
advances in anesthesiology. Recently, hypnosis has aroused interest, as
hypnosis seems to complement and possibly enhance conscious sedation.
Contemporary clinical investigators claim that the combination of
analgesia and hypnosis is superior to conventional pharmacologic
anesthesia for minor surgical cases, with patients and surgeons
responding favorably. Simultaneously, basic research of pain pathways
involving the nociceptive flexion reflex and positron emission
tomography has yielded objective data regarding the physiologic
correlates of hypnosis. In this article I review the history, basic
scientific and clinical studies, and modern practical considerations of
one of the oldest therapeutical tools: the power of suggestion.

Working with Spirit: Experiencing Izangoma Healing in Contemporary South Africa

Type

Book

Author

Jo Thobeka Wreford

Series

Epistemologies of healing

Series Number

v. 3

Place

New York

Publisher

Berghahn Books

Date

2008

ISBN

9781845454760

Short Title

Working with Spirit

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu.ezproxy.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

GR358 .W74 2008

Date Added

Saturday, October 01, 2011 5:02:41 PM

Modified

Saturday, October 01, 2011 5:02:41 PM

Tags:

healing

Health Policy

Medicine, African Traditional

South Africa

TRADITIONAL medicine

Notes:

In the current model of health
dispensation in South Africa there are two major paradigms, the
spirit-inspired tradition of izangoma sinyanga, and biomedicine. These
operate at best in parallel, but more often than not are at odds with
one another. This book, based on the author s personal experience as a
practitioner of traditional African medicine, considers the effects of
the absence of spirit in biomedicine on collaborative relationships.
Given the unprecedented challenge of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the
country, the author suggests that more cooperation is vital. Taking a
critical look at the role of anthropology in this endeavor, she proposes
the development of a language of spirit by means of which the
spirit-inspired aetiology of izangoma sinyanga may be made
comprehensible to academic scientists and applicable to medical
interventions. The author discusses white izangoma in the context of
current debates on healing and hybridity and insists that there exists a
powerful role for izangoma in the realm of societal healing. Above all,
the book constitutes a start in what the author hopes will develop into
an ongoing intellectual conversation between traditional African
healing, academe and biomedicine in South Africa.

Body, Discourse, and the Cultural Politics of Contemporary Chinese Qigong

The neural basis of human social values: evidence from functional MRI

Type

Journal Article

Author

Roland Zahn

Author

Jorge Moll

Author

Mirella Paiva

Author

Griselda Garrido

Author

Frank Krueger

Author

Edward D Huey

Author

Jordan Grafman

Abstract

Social values are composed of social concepts (e.g., "generosity")
and context-dependent moral sentiments (e.g., "pride"). The neural basis
of this intricate cognitive architecture has not been investigated thus
far. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging while subjects
imagined their own actions toward another person (self-agency) which
either conformed or were counter to a social value and were associated
with pride or guilt, respectively. Imagined actions of another person
toward the subjects (other-agency) in accordance with or counter to a
value were associated with gratitude or indignation/anger. As
hypothesized, superior anterior temporal lobe (aTL) activity increased
with conceptual detail in all conditions. During self-agency, activity
in the anterior ventromedial prefrontal cortex correlated with pride and
guilt, whereas activity in the subgenual cingulate solely correlated
with guilt. In contrast, indignation/anger activated lateral
orbitofrontal-insular cortices. Pride and gratitude additionally evoked
mesolimbic and basal forebrain activations. Our results demonstrate that
social values emerge from coactivation of stable abstract social
conceptual representations in the superior aTL and context-dependent
moral sentiments encoded in fronto-mesolimbic regions. This neural
architecture may provide the basis of our ability to communicate about
the meaning of social values across cultural contexts without limiting
our flexibility to adapt their emotional interpretation.

Notes:

The value system of medical ethics in
China has a long tradition that can be traced back to ancient times.
Those values are reflected in the (Confucian) precept that “medicine is a
humane art.” That is, medicine is not only a means to save people’s
lives, but also a moral commitment to love people and free them from
suffering through personal caring and medical treatment. Although this
precept has been well accepted as the basic principle of professional
ethics as general principle that emphasizes doctors’ self-accomplishment
and self-restraint, there has never been a universally accepted
professional code and binding principles in Chinese medicine comparable
to the Hippocratic Oath in western medicine.

Asceticism and Healing in Ancient India: Medicine in the Buddhist Monastery

Type

Book

Author

Kenneth G Zysk

Place

New York

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Date

1991

ISBN

0195059565

Short Title

Asceticism and Healing in Ancient India

Library Catalog

library.bu.edu Library Catalog

Call Number

R605 .Z87 1991

Date Added

Saturday, October 01, 2011 5:02:41 PM

Modified

Saturday, October 01, 2011 5:02:41 PM

Tags:

Medicine

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Medicine, Buddhist

Monastic and religious life (Buddhism)

Religious aspects

Notes:

The rich Indian medical tradition is
usually traced back to Sanskrit sources, the earliest of which cannot
much antedate the common era. Zysk shows that the Buddhist scriptures
some centuries older than this contain abundant information about
medical practice, and are our earliest evidence for a rational approach
to medicine in India. He argues that Buddhism and the medical tradition
were mutually supportive: that Buddhist monks and people associated with
them contributed to the development of medicine, while their skills as
physical as well as spiritual healers enhanced their reputation and
popular support. Drawing on a wide range of textual, archaeological, and
secondary sources, Zysk first presents an overview of the history of
Indian medicine in its religious context. He then examines primary
literature from the Pali Buddhist Canon and from the Sanskrit treatises
of Bhela, Caraka, and Susruta. By close comparison of these two bodies
of literature Zysk convincingly shows how the theories delineated in the
medical classics actually became practice.

Tags:

Medicine, Ayurvedic

Notes:

The following historical and philological
study traces the science of respiration and the doctrine of the bodily
winds through ancient Indian religious and technical literature. Basic
notions about respiration and bodily winds appear in the literature of
the vedic samhitas and brahmanas. By the end of the principal upanisads
these early ideas begin to be codified into two separate systems. One,
emphasizing a physiology of bodily winds, reaches its traditional
formulation in the classical medical literature of Ayurveda, the other,
focusing on respiration, attains its classical formulation in Yoga. The
two unite later, when Yoga integrates medical theory into its science of
respiration. Asceticism is the common thread connecting the various
stages in the development of respiration and bodily winds.

The Evolution of Anatomical Knowledge in Ancient India, with Special Reference to Cross-Cultural Influences

Notes:

Ludwig Edelstein’s study of the history of
Greek anatomy will be used as a model to examine the evolution of
anatomical knowledge in ancient India. The earliest evidence of Indian
anatomy is found in the Vedic literature, dating from 1500 B. C. to 200
B. C. It provides a clear picture of the acquisition of anatomical
knowledge by means of the sacrifice of animals, principally the horse,
and of men; chance observations contributed a comparatively small amount
to the body of anatomical knowledge. As a result of these sacrificial
rites quite accurate lists of bodily structures of the horse and of man
have been recorded and transmitted by means of the traditional religious
texts. These catalogues remained the principal sources of anatomy until
the first centuries of the Christian era, when we find a codification
of Indian medical knowledge in the surgical text, Susruta Saṃhitā.
Isolated in a chapter on anatomy, a new approach to the study of the
bodily parts is recommended: in order to acquire the most complete
understanding of the human body the author prescribes that first-hand
observation of the parts should be combined with textual learning
and proceeds to detail the correct method to dissect a cadaver. This
precept, reflecting a characteristically non-Indian attitude, may well
have had its origin in the Alexandrian school of medicine, in particular
in the teachings of Herophilus in the first half of the third century
B. C. The instruction which added a wholly new dimension to Indian
anatomical thought could have been transmitted to India around the time
of Alexander. As in the Hellenistic world, scientific dissection was not
readily accepted by the Indian medical community and its practice
quickly vanished. During the short time it was known and performed in
India, some advances seem to have been made in the understanding of the
inner parts of the human body, increasing the store-house of anatomical
knowledge already possessed by the Indian physicians. A similar
technique of dissection is detailed in the twelfth century Salernitan
anatomical text, Anatomia magistri Nicolai phisici. This remarkable
occurrence poses questions, the answers to which cannot be definitely
given until more evidence becomes available. The paper concludes with a
critical translation of chapter five on the “enumeration and distinction
of the bodily parts” in the book of anatomy of the Susruta Samhita.